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AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 

NEW  YORK 


STORY  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 

1919 


General  Pershing  (See  Page  4) 


Officers  of  the  American  Bible 


Society 


■''o'  f'-  ' 

V 

V  ■»  »'» 


President 

Churchill  H.  Cutting,  New  Tork. 


President  Emeritus 
Jambs  Wood,  New  York. 


Vice-Presidents 


Cybus  Nobthbop,  LL.D.tMinn. 
Hon.  William  P.  Dillingham,  Vt 
Hon.  E.  E.  Beabd,  Tenn. 
Mebbill  E.  Gates,  LL.D.,  D.  C. 
Fbank  E.  Spooneb,  Ill. 

Gbobge  W.  Watts,  N.  C. 

W.  T.  Habdib,  La. 

Hon.  Chas.  E.  Hughes,  LL.D.,  N. 
Hon.  H.  H.  Seldombidge,  Colo. 
John  R.  Mott,  LL.D.,  N.  Y. 
Capt.  Robebt  Dollab,  Cal. 
Joshua  Levebing,  Md. 

Hon.  Simeon  E.  Baldwin,  LL.D.,  C< 


James  N.  Gamble,  O. 

Chbistopher  Mathewson,  Fla. 
Judge  Robebt  F.  Raymond,  Mass. 
B.  Preston  Clark,  Mass. 

Hon.  Cabl  E.  Milliken,  LL.D.,  Me. 
Hon.  Robert  H.  Gardiner,  Me. 
Judge  Henry  W.  Rogers,  LL.D.,  Conn. 
William  S.  Pilling,  Pa. 

Hon.  Robert  Lansing,  LL.D.,  D.  C. 
Mrs.  John  S.  Kennedy,  N.  Y. 

Mrs.  Finley  J.  Shepard,  N.  Y. 

E.  Francis  Hyde,  N,  Y. 

;.  William  H.  Harris,  N.  Y. 


General  Secretaries 

Rev.  William  I.  Haven,  D.D, 
Frank  H.  Mann. 


Recording  Secretary 

Rev.  Lewis  B.  Chamberlain,  M.A. 


Treasurer 

William  Foulke. 


Managers 

-  *  .  Term — 1916  to  1920 

Wm.  Jay  Schibpfelin.  G.  S.  Mackenzie.  William  H.  Spencer. 

Wm.  Phillips  Hall.  C.  Edgab  Anderson.  John  T.  Manson. 

Charles  D.  Levebich. 

Term— 1917  to  1921 

Henry  S.  Stearns,  M.D.  Winthbop  M.  Tuttle.  Obbin  R.  Judd. 
Howard  O,  Wood.  Mobnay  Williams.  Ivy  L.  Lee. 

Eben  E.  Olcott. 


John  R.  Tabbb. 

J.  Marshall  Stuart. 
Henry  A.  Ingraham. 


George  D.  Beattys. 
Ablando  Marine. 
Franklin  S.  Edmonds. 


Term-1918  to  1922 

Fbbd’k  Frelinohuysen.  Mbs.  Theo.  Weston. 
Logan  C.  Murray.  Frederick  Harris. 

Term -1919  to  1923 

William  H.  Klenke.  Charles F.  Darlington. 
James  R.  Joy.  Silas  F.  Hallock,  M.D. 


Story  of  the 
American  Bible  Society 

1919 


'I 

AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 


NEW  YORK 


CONTENTS 


Introduction,  5-9. 

A  Cable  from  General  Pershing,  5;  World  Tragedy  Ended,  5;  Mobiliza¬ 
tion  of  Spiritual  Forces— its  Aftermath,  5-7;  A  New  Internationalism 
7;  Opportunity  the  Harvest  of  War  Work,  8,  9,  25,  26. 

War  Service  and  Detailed  Results,  10-13. 

Over  Four  Million  to  Soldiers  and  Sailors,  10,  11;  Nearly  Two  Million 
in  Europe:  Grand  Total,  Over  Six  Million  Volumes,  11;  Special  Hospital 
Edition,  11;  How  Funds  were  Secured,  12,  13. 

Issues  and  Circulation,  14-17 ;  27,  28. 

Staff  Changes  at  Home  and  Abroad,  18-23. 

In  Memoriam,  23. 

Vice-Presidents:  Charles  W.  Fairbanks,  Edward  H.  Sholl,  M.D.,  Gerard 
Beekman,  Esq.;  Managers:  Silas  B.  Brownell,  LL.D.,  James  W.  Pearsall. 

Newly  Elected  Managers,  23 ;  Vice-Presidents,  24 ;  Life 
Directors  and  Life  Members,  24. 

Translation  and  Revision,  24,  25. 

The  Home  Agencies,  29-86. 

The  Colored  People  of  the  South,  29-33;  Northwestern,  34-40;  South 
Atlantic,  40-46;  Western,  47-54;  Pacific,  55-62;  Southwestern,  62-69; 
Eastern,  69-78;  Central,  78-82;  Atlantic,  82-86. 

The  Foreign  Agencies,  87-163. 

The  West  Indies,  88-92;  Mexico,  92-97;  Panama  Canal  and  Central 
America,  98-104;  La  Plata,  105-110;  Brazil,  110-114;  Levant,  115-124; 
Siam,  124-131;  China,  132-149;  Japan,  149-155;  Korea,  155-161; 
Philippines,  161-163. 

Beyond  the  Limits  of  the  Agencies,  163-173. 

Europe,  163-169;  War  Distribution,  163;  Russia,  164;  Germany,  164; 
Switzerland,  165;  France,  165-168;  Italy,  168;  Other  European  Countries, 
169. 

Asia,  169;  India,  169;  Arabia,  169;  Ceylon,  Micronesia,  Africa,  170. 

Auxiliary  Bible  Societies,  173. 

Income  and  Expenditure,  173,  174. 

Income  in  Excess  of  Expenditure,  174;  Trust  Funds,  174. 

Estimates  and  Appropriations,  174,  175. 

Conclusion,  175,  176. 

TOPICAL  GROUPINGS 

Work  among  Foreigners  by  the  Home  Agencies. 

Bohemians,  Bulgarians,  Croatians,  Syrians,  Poles,  36;  In  South  St. 
Paul,  37;  Serbians;  Croatians,  54;  Japanese,  55;  Germans,  56;  In  San 
Francisco,  57;  Armenians,  58;  Lithuanians,  64;  In  Army  Camps,  65; 
Mexican  Refugees,  66;  Italians,  71;  Indians,  72;  Polyglot  Ohio,  79;  Rou¬ 
manians,  79;  Pittsburgh,  83. 

The  Society  as  an  Up-to-Date  Business  Enterprise. 

(a)  In  Response  to  Demand,  Prepares  to  Publish  Concordance  Bibles,  16 ; 

(b)  Utilizes  Photographic  Reproduction  for  Printing  Bibles  in  Seven 
Foreign  Languages,  16,  17; 

(c)  Solves  Problem  of  Uniform  Set  of  Small-size  Bibles  in  Ten  Foreign 
Languages,  17. 


War  Work. 

War  Intensifies  World  Demand  for  the  Bible,  5-10;  Over  Six  Million 
Distribution,  11;  In  the  Hospital,  11,  75;  The  Patrol  Boat,  13;  The 
Foreign-speaking  Soldier  and  Sailor,  17;  Co-operative  Distribution  at 
Home  and  Abroad,  29,  35,  41,  47,  48,  65;  Army  and  Navy  Bible  Fund, 
35,  59,  60,  63,  64,  69,  73-75,  83;  Canal  Zone,  103;  Japanese  Troops,  151; 
Distribution  in  Europe,  163-169, 

Striking  Incidents. 

At  Home:  Politeness,  Persistence,  and  a  Grip  of  Bibles,  32;  Tobacco 
Money  for  Bibles,  38;  Bible  Long  Wanted,  43;  “What  the  Book  Says 
is  Right!”  49;  “My  Ma” — in  Two  Homes!  50;  Prodigal  Daughter  and 
her  Father’s  Love,  53;  Beautiful  Home-going,  61;  Shelling  Peas  to  Give 
Khaki  Testaments,  63;  Doing  Without  New  Shoes,  64;  Missing  Mess 
to  Read  the  Bible,  64. 

Abroad;  A  Persistent,  Consecrated  Tailor,  97;  Pills  for  Stones,  103; 
A  Moslem’s  Testimony,  124;  The  “Silent  Missionary,”  126;  Dwindling 
Distribution — "Due  to  Lack  of  Funds,  137;  No  Gospel  for  Sixty  Districts, 
138;  A  Famine  of  Books  in  China,  144;  Gospel  Truth  Bears  Fruit  After 
Forty  Years,  147;  Barber  Sells  Scriptures,  151;  A  Wicked  Past,  Followed 
by  Conversion,  152;  “Still  Small  Voice,”  154,  155;  Cat-and-Rat  Evil 
Spirit,  159,  160;  Converted  in  Portuguese  Nyassaland  through  Sheetswa 
Bible  from  New  York,  171,  172. 

Growing  Tolerance  of  Catholic  Church,  Priests,  and  People. 

Priests  Help  to  Distribute,  36;  Leaving  the  Catholic  Faith,  37;  Catho¬ 
lic  Bible  Classes,  72;  Catholic  Lad  Carries  Testament  “Over  the  Top,” 
77;  Catholics  in  Panama  Canal  Zone  Receptive,  100;  Persecution  Ends 
in  Gratitude,  103;  Catholic  Woman  Instructed,  108. 

Methods  Employed. 

Visiting  Soldiers,  Sailors,  Shipbuilders,  29,  32,  103,  118,  121;  Grants  to 
Schools  and  Churches,  30;  Mills  and  Coal  Fields,  30;  Street  Work;  House- 
to-House  Canvassing,  32,  33;  Mines  and  Steel  Plants,  33;  House  Boats, 
36;  Saloons;  Police  Stations,  37,  38,  53;  Work  Shops,  Mill  Villages  and 
Isolated  Homes,  43;  Co-operating  with  Utah  Gospel  Mission,  50;  Sailors’ 
Institutes,  57;  Appeals  at  Synods,  Conventions,  Conferences,  and  Camp 
Meetings,  58;  Army  and  Navy  Campaign,  59,  60,  62-64,  69,  74,  75; 
Voluntary  Workers,  66,  84;  Street-car  and  Railway  Conductors  Aid, 
67;  A  Newsboy’s  Work,  67;  Personal-work  “Endless  Chain,”  70;  Pough¬ 
keepsie  and  Gloversville  Campaigns,  70;  The  Water  Fronts,  72;  County 
Fairs,  73;  Supplying  Chaplains  and  Red  Cross  Workers,  75;  Mountain 
Mining  Camps,  81;  A  Launch  in  the  Canal  Zone,  104;  Night  Volun¬ 
teer  Class,  127;  Distribution  by  Correspondents,  134;  Market-day  Sales, 
146;  Preaching  Tours,  147;  Tent  Services  in  Japan,  150;  Bible  Selling 
in  Schools,  151;  Bible  in  Prisons,  154,  155;  Bible  Classes  in  Korea,  158. 

Results  Worth  While. 

At  Home;  The  Fisher  Folk,  36;  A  Hundred  Converted  in  Police 
Station,  38;  Increasing  Interest,  43;  Promise  of  Two  Soldiers,  44;  Prac¬ 
tical  Effects  of  Bible  Reading,  45;  Bible  Leads  to  the  Ministry,  46;  The 
Bible  and  Allied  Army  Morale,  48;  In  Saloons,  53;  Bible  a  Text-book, 
65;  Bibles  for  Blind  Soldiers,  77;  Labors  of  Mrs.  Andrews,  80;  In  the 
Mountains,  81;  Shipyards  and  Munition  Plants,  84. 

Abroad;  “Pass  It  On,”  87;  In  Porto  Rico,  90;  Awakening  in  Mexico, 
96,  97;  Churches  Organized,  99;  Interest  in  El  Salvador,  100;  Errors 
of  Rome  Corrected,  100,  106-108;  West  Indian  Negroes  Buy  Bibles, 
104;  Demand  in  Brazil,  112;  A  Brazilian  Scholar  Assists,  112;  Armenian 
Prisoners  Reached,  119;  Sales  in  the  Levant,  122-124;  China  Begs  fpr 
the  Bible,  133,  137-142,  144,  147;  Bible  Selling  in  Japan,  150;  Modern 
Joseph,  154,  165;  Bible  Classes  in  Korea,  158;  Robbers  Won,  160;  War 
Distribution  Statistics  for  Europe,  164;  Distribution  in  France,  166t1  68; 
Asia,  Micronesia,  and  Africa,  169-173, 


WAR  DEPARTMENT 
The  Adjutant  General’s  Office 
Washington 

March  29,  1918. 

The  American  Bible  Society 

New  York  City,  New  York. 

Gentlemen: 

In  compliance  with  General  Pershing’s 
request,  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  the 
following  quotation  from  his  cablegram  of 
March  24th: 

am  glad  to  see  that  every  man 
in  the  Army  is  to  have  a  Testa¬ 
ment.  Its  teachings  will  fortify  us 
for  our  great  task. 

—Pershing/' 

Very  truly  yours. 

Adjutant  General. 


THIS  CHARACTERISTICALLY  BRIEF  CABLE  HAD  PECULIAR  SIGNIFICANCE  FOR 

FOUR  IMPORTANT  REASONS : 

1.  It  was  from  General  Pershing — The  man  and  the  soldier; 

2.  It  was  from  the  Commander  of  the  American  Forces  in  France; 

3.  It  was  sent  on  March  24th,  three  days  after  the  great  German  offensive 
began,  and  when  American  troops  were  being  suddenly  and  urgently 
called  into  full  action  for  the  first  time.  General  Pershing,  by  giving 
time  and  thought  to  the  sending  of  this  cable  at  such  a  juncture, 
indicated  clearly  the  importance  he  attached  to  the  subject ; 

4.  ThP  War  Department,  by  transmitting  the  cable,  indicated  its  sym¬ 
pathy  :  of  which,  indeed,  the  very  highest  evidence  came  through 
two  letters  from  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  Army 
and  Navy -^President  Woodrow  Wilson — commending  and  encouraging 
this  service  of  the  American  Bible  Society. 


Story  of  the  American 
Bible  Society,  1919 


The  never-to-be-forgotten  year  of  1918  has  be¬ 
come  past  history,  and  will  ever  be  remembered 
as  one  of  the  most  important  and  critical  in  the 
world’s  chronicles.  It  was  a  year  that  witnessed 
the  final  desperate  death  struggle  and  slaughter  of 
the  greatest  world  tragedy,  which  terminated  with 
startling  suddenness  at  the  eleventh  hour  of  the 
eleventh  day  in  the  eleventh  month  of  the  year. 
Though  the  armistice  was  signed  and  the  great  war 
ceased,  yet  it  was  followed  by  revolutions,  Bolshev¬ 
ism  and  a  score  of  minor  wars  that  still  rage.  It 
was  a  year  of  untold  suffering,  toil,  and  trouble;  a 
year  of  despair  ending  in  a  year  of  hope;  a  year  of 
highly  developed  scientific  warfare,  with  its  dia¬ 
bolical  mechanisms  for  the  destruction  of  life,  fol¬ 
lowed  by  a  vision  of  enduring  peace  and  brotherhood, 
by  the  establishment  of  a  League  of  Nations,  and  the 
limitation  of  armaments;  a  year  in  which  brute  force 
and  autocracy  were  vanquished,  and  the  Christian 
principles  of  justice,  mercy,  liberty,  and  morality 
gained  the  victory. 

Mobilization  of  Spiritual  Forces 

But  the  greatest  victory  of  the  war  was  the  mobili¬ 
zation  and  effective  use  of  great  spiritual  forces. 
Some  of  our  greatest  men  have  testified  that  the  war 
was  a  spiritual  contest  against  “the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil.  ”  Witness  the  unprecedented  amounts 
given  for  war  charities;  think  of  the'  spiritual  in¬ 
fluences  exerted  through  the  Army  and  Navy  chap¬ 
lains,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  W.  C.  T.  U., 
Red  Cross,  and  Salvation  Army  workers;  recall  the 
remarkable  celerity  with  which  the  federal  Prohi- 


STORY  OF  THE 


6 

bition<Ainendment  to  the  Constitution- was  ratified; 
remember  the  eagerness  and  demand  for  the  Word 
of  God  in  at  least  85  languages  among  the  naval  and 
military  forces  of  all  the  contending  nations;  and 
then  try  to  grasp  the  extent  of  the  spiritual  power 
•that  was  exerted  during  the  four  years  of  strife.  The 
85  languages  represented  45  tongues  in  Europe, 
nearly  20  in  Asia,  as  many  in  Africa,  as  well  as  10 
languages  used  in  the  Islands  of  the  Seas. 

The  Aftermath  of  the  War 

The  war  tragedy  has  ceased,  but  its  far-reaching 
influences  have  just  begun.  Consider  that  the 
■twenty  million  or  more  Bibles,  Testaments  and  por¬ 
tions  were  distributed  among  men  representing  85 
tribes  or  nations;  picture  these  millions  of  copies  of 
the  living  and  active  Word  of  God  traveling  in  the 
pockets  or  luggage  of  soldiers  and  sailors,  camp  at¬ 
tendants,  servants,  coolies  and  labor  battalions  to 
.the  remotest  parts  of  the  earth,  where  they  will  be 
read  not  only  by  the  men  themselves  but  by  their 
relatives,  friends,  and  neighbors.  Think  of  the 
things  many  thousands  of  men  from  uncivilized 
parts  of  the  earth  saw  in  Europe ;  namely,  the  prod¬ 
ucts  of  lust  and  godlessness,  in  sharp  contrast  to 
the  products  of  Christian  principles  and  ideals. 
They  beheld  wonderful  industrial,  agricultural,  and 
mechanical  developments,  and  witnessed  the  great 
.philanthropic  organizations.  All  of  these  things, 
they  realize,  are  the  results  of  Christianity.  These 
men,  now  demobilized  and  again  in  their  native 
countries,  were  ministered  unto  when  sick  or  wounded 
by  noble,  unselfish  men  and  women  in  the  medical 
departments,  and  in  the  various  religious  organiza¬ 
tions  they  experienced  the  loving  service  of  Chris¬ 
tian  womanhood,  unsullied  in  its  purity;  they  there¬ 
fore  now  know  as  never  before  the  purifying  influ¬ 
ences  of  Christian  education  and  Christian  thought 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY  7 

and  life  upon  the  men  and  women  of  Christian 
countries. 

The  Eyes  of  Asia  and  Africa  Opened 

When  at  the  battle  front  thousands  of  men  from 
Asia  and  Africa  and  other  lands  wrote  hundreds  of 
letters  home  to  their  relatives  and  friends  telling  of 
the  things  they  had  seen,  and  the  treatment  they  had 
received.  They  are  now  relating  these  things  day  by 
day  to  their  compatriots,  who  listen  to  their  wondrous 
stories  with  open-mouthed  astonishment. 

Peruse  thoughtfully  Rudyard  Kipling’s  important 
little  book,  “The  Eyes  of  Asia,”  and  note  the  in¬ 
fluence  exerted  upon  those  men  from  India  by  the 
women  who  ministered  to  them.  This  experience 
and  the  things  they  saw  opened  the  eyes  of  those 
Indian  officers,  so  that  India  to-day  is,  through  them, 
observing  vividly  the  striking  contrast  between  the 
East  and  the  West.  In  the  hearts  and  ambitions  of 
the  Indian  and  other  officers  and  troops  there  has 
been  created  an  almost  unimaginable  longing  for 
better  things — for  educated  and  better  women  in 
their  homes,  for  Western  education  and  Western 
industrial,  agricultural  and  other  improvements; 
and,  best  of  all,  for  the  religion  of  Christ  Jesus,  the 
religion  that  inspired  the  American,  British,  French, 
Italian,  and  other  soldiers,  kept  them  clean,  and 
enabled  them  to  honor  and  respect  the  virtue  of 
womanhood  not  only  in  the  European  war  area,  but 
also  in  Turkey,  Palestine,  and  Mesopotamia. 

A  Vision  of  a  New  Internationalism 

Dr.  Haven,  in  his  inspiring  address  before  the 
Foreign  Missionary  Conference  at  New  Haven, 
Conn.,  in  June,  1919,  gave  the  following  encouraging 
vision  of  a  new  Internationalism  which  surely  will 
be  created  throughout  the  world  by  means  of  the 
Scriptures  and  other  Christian  literature,  and  through 


8 


STORY  OF  THE 


Courtesy  of  the  American  Library  Association. 

A  CAMP  LIBRARY  BUILDING 

EQUIPPED  AND  CONDUCTED  BY  THE  AMERICAN  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION.  THE  BIBLE  SOCIETY  HAS 

PROVIDED  BIBLES  FOR  ALL  THESE  LIBRARIES 

the  instrumentality  of  ministers  and  missionary 
workers  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Dr.  Haven  said 
in  part : 

‘  ‘  One  of  the  amazing  events  of  the  last  four  years 
not  often  thought  of,  is  the  way  in  whieh  the  Serip- 
tures  and  other  Christian  literature  have  been  eir- 
eulated  among  millions  of  people  speaking  a  hundred 
languages  of  the  earth  on  the  battlefields  of  Europe. 

Let  the  mind  rest  for  a  moment  on  the  fact  that  twenty 
millions  of  Bibles,  Testaments,  Books  of  Psalms, 
Gospels  of  St.  John,  Books  of  Proverbs,  ete.,  and  un¬ 
numbered  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  hymns, 
leaflets,  and  suggestions  for  spiritual  living  have  been 
put  into  the  hands  of  men  gathered  from  all  the  eor- 
ners  of  the  earth  and  thrown  together  in  this  great 
maelstrom  of  the  war.  Tons  of  Chinese  Scriptures, 
for  instance,  were  brought  from  Shanghai  for  Chinese 
workers  in  France.  These  men,  too,  have  had, 
strange  to  say,  leisure  and  hunger  for  such  reading  as 
they  would  not  have  had  in  the  homes  from  whieh 
they  came.  Men  in  prison  eamps  have  been  al¬ 
lowed  by  the  censors  the  Bible  when  they  would  be 
allowed  nothing  else.  Men  in  the  trenches,  waiting 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 


9 

and  watching,  with  days  upon  days  spent  without 
any  of  the  ordinary  incitements  that  are  a  part  of 
our  daily  life,  turned  to  the  little  Book,  which  was 
all  they  could  carry  with  them. 

The  Harvest  of  War  Work 

“What  is  going  to  come  out  of  it  all?  What  is 
to  be  the  harvest  of  such  thinking  in  hours  of  such 
intensity  as  the  world  has  never  known?  Where  are 
all  these  millions  of  Scriptures  and  other  literature 
given  away  on  the  battlefields  of  Europe  going,  as 
the  men  are  demobilized  and  returned  to  their  homes  ? 
What  is  going  to  be  their  effect  in  Africa  and  China 
and  India  and  England  and  America  and  Germany 
and  Austria  and  Russia  and  the  world  around? 
There  never  was  any  such  propaganda  known  for 
the  true  Kingdom  which  is  to  fill  the  earth!  What 
is  to  be  the  effect  in  France,  where,  I  am  told,  already 
as  in  Italy,  a  new  question  has  come:  ‘What  is  this 
book  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the 
General  of  the  American  Armies  hope  may  be  in 
the  hands  of  all  their  soldiers? ’  I  cannot  tell.  Only, 
I  believe  it  makes  for  a  new  Internationalism. 

“There  can  be  no  Internationalism  without  com¬ 
mon  thoughts,  and  in  this  age  there  must  be  common 
literature  to  create  common  thought.  It  is  amazing, 
not  only  how  the  Bible  has  been  translated  into  all 
languages,  but  how  it  has  penetrated  all  literature. 

Unprecedented  Opportunity 

“Never  was  there  such  an  opportunity.  Never 
were  France,  or  Italy,  or  Austria,  or  the  new  nationali¬ 
ties  rising  out  of  the '  breaking  up  of  the  Central 
Empires,  never  were  the  peoples  of  Asia,  or  Africa, 
or  the  Islands  of  the' Sea,  so  ready  for  this  approach 
as  at  the  present  hour.  Who  will  rise  to  undertake 
this  task?  Where  shall  we  find  the  scholars,  trans¬ 
lators,  revisers,  who  will  add  to  the  Bible  a  literature 


STORY  OF  THE 


10 

for  the  household  and  the  street  that  shall  be  satura¬ 
ted  with  Christian  Idealism? 

“The  Bible  is  the  one  polyglot  book  for  America. 
No  other  one  book  reaches  every  tongue  spoken  in 
these  United  States.  When  the  Department  of 
Immigration  had  to  make  ready  to  meet  the  new 
language  test  established  by  Congress,  it  had  to  turn 
to  the  Bible  as  the  one  book  which  was  available 
to  anyone  who  came  into  a  port  of  entry  in  which  it 
could  be  tested  whether  he  was  literate  or  not.  This 
story  might  be  repeated  in  all  the  earth.  ” 

These  impressive  words  emphasize  the  great  im.- 
portance,  unlimited  opportunity,  and  tremendous  re¬ 
sponsibility  of  the  American  Bible  Society  in  this 
era  of  reconstruction.  What  an  appeal  are  these 
facts  to  the  liberality  and  intercession  of  God’s 
people  everywhere.  The  world-wide  work  of  the 
Society  is  efficiently  organized  both  at  home  and 
abroad  to  be  able  to  meet  the  world’s  need  and  de¬ 
mand  for  the  Scriptures,  if  all  lovers  of  the  Bible 
will  only  do  their  part  in  providing  the  necessary 
means  for  it. 


The  Society’s  War  Service 

The  outstanding  feature  of  the  Society’s  work 
during  1918  was  its  magnificent  war  service.  As 
with  the  government  and  the  nation,  so  also  with  the 
American  Bible  Society,  the  needs  of  our  soldiers  and 
sailors  had  the  right  of  way. 

4,541,455  Volumes 

From  April  6,  1917,  to  December  31,  1918,  our 
records  show  that  the  American  Bible  Society  sup¬ 
plied  for  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  United  States, 
in  special  khaki  and  navy-blue  bindings,  13,421  Bibles, 
2,545,600  Testaments,  and  1,982,434  portions;  or  a  to¬ 
tal  of  4,541,455  volumes.  All  of  these  volumes  were 
supplied  at  or  below  cost.  Of  the  Testaments,  the 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY  11 

bulk  were  the  special  vest-pocket  edition,  so  con¬ 
venient  for,  and  so  prized  by,  our  men — of  which 
edition  over  a  million  were  an  outright  gift  through 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  largest  single  gift  of  Scriptures 
ever  made,  so  far  as  we  know.  Tens  of  thousands 
of  these  Scriptures  were  outright  gifts  through  the 
chaplains  of  our  Army  and  Navy,  and  other  dona¬ 
tions  were  made  through  the  Salvation  Army,  the 
Red  Cross,  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  and 
local  committees,  churches,  and  societies  interested 
in  equipping  our  men  for  the  war. 

1,846,488  Volumes  in  Europe 

In  Europe,  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  Au¬ 
gust,  1914,  up  to  December  31,  1918,  so  far  as  data 
are  in,  reports  show  that  the  American  Bible  Society 
supplied  for  the  belligerent  forces  of  other  countries 
1,846,488  volumes  of  Scriptures,  of  which  565,905 
were  the  gift  of  the  American  Sunday-school  scholars 
through  the  World’s  Sunday  School  Association. 

Grand  Total,  6,387,943  Volumes 

The  total  thus  far  recorded  as  distributed  by  the 
American  Bible  Society  during  the  war  among,  the 
forces  engaged  is,  therefore,  6,387,943  volumes;  and 
when  all  reports  are  in  the  total  will  be  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  7,000,000. 

Further  Work 

Special  Hospital  Editions  of  the  New  Testament 
and  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  are  being  issued  by  the 
thousands  at  present  in  response  to  requests  from 
the  chaplains.  Red  Cross  officers,  officers  of  morale, 
and  medical  officers  in  charge — a  demand  which 
will  undoubtedly  continue  for  some  time. 

This  service  has  been  possible  only,  and  greatly 
enhanced,  by  the  loyal  and  truly  marvelous  work  of 
the  Bible  House  publishing  staff,  and  of  other  printers 


STORY  OP  THE 


12 

and  binders,  who  have  supplemented  and  supported 
our  own  labors. 

These  Results,  How  Accomplished 

These  notable  results  were  accomplished  only 
through  the  favor  of  God  and  the  faith  and  courage 
of  the  governing  Board  and  its  officers.  Determined 
to  measure  up  to  its  responsibility  in  war  times,  the 
Managers  and  executive  officers,  with  great  faith  and 
courage,  trusting  God  for  the  financial  means,  ven¬ 
tured  upon  a  bold  and  extensive  programme,  the 
results  of  which  are  indicated  by  the  figures  quoted 
above.  Only  the  record  which  is  made  in  heaven  will 
completely  tell  of  the  spiritual  results  and  service 
rendered  by  the  millions  of  volumes  so  distributed. 

To  secure  the  necessary  funds,  as  stated  in  the 
report  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  “the  officers  at  the 
Bible  House,  in  New  York,  with  the  co-operation  of 
the  Agency  Secretaries,  began  a  campaign  immediately 
in  April,  1917.  In  the  late  summer  of  that  year 
Mr.  David  Hinshaw,  of  New  York  City,  was  engaged 
to  develop  plans  which  he  suggested  in  co-operation 
with  those  already  instituted.  He  carried  forward 
his  enterprise  with  vigor,  and  a  considerable  sum  re¬ 
sulted.  His  relations  continued  until  April,  1918. 
One  of  the  most  important  features  of  his  efforts 
was  the  securing  of  the  interest  of  the  great  daily 
papers  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  which  entered 
heartily  into  the  campaign.  During  the  summer  and 
autirmn  of  1918  the  general  officers  and  the  Home 
Agency  Secretaries  pushed  forward  their  plans,  which 
were  indorsed  by  the  great  religious  gatherings  of 
the  spring.  The  demands  continued  to  exceed  the 
resources  in  such  a  way  that  the  financial  result  seemed 
dubious  for  a  time,  but  when  the  armistice  was  signed 
and  a  balance  drawn  reasons  for  thanksgiving  unto 
God  were  made  apparent  by  the  small  deficit  which 
remained. 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 


13 


Copyrighted,  Underwood  &  Underwood 


ONE  OF  THE  MANY  PATROL  BOATS  PLACED  AT  GOVERNMENT  SERVICE  BY 
PATRIOTIC  CITIZENS.  THE  DONOR  OF  THIS  BOAT,  CORNELIUS  VAN¬ 
DERBILT,  JR.,  IS  IN  UNIFORM  NEAR  THE  FORWARD  MAST. 

THE  BIBLE  SOCIETY  SUPPLIED  THE  LIBRARIES  OF  MANY 
PATROL  BOATS  WITH  BIBLES  IN  NAVY  BLUE. 


“The  year  closed  with  activity  in  supplying  special 
editions  of  the  Testament  and  Psalms  for  the  Army 
and  Navy  Hospitals.  And  another  phase  of  this 
war  service  in  progress  as  the  year  ended  is  that  of 
the  preparation  of  a  uniform  set  of  Testaments  in 
ten  European  languages,  to  meet  the  call  on  behalf 
of  men  taken  into  the  United  States  Army  who  still 
depend  on  their  mother  tongues  for  reading,  and  for 
whom  the  Scriptures  could  not  be  imported  during 
the^war.  “ 


14 


STORY  OF  THE 
Issues 

The  dominant  note  in  the  reports  of  the  officers 
and  Agency  Secretaries,  both  Home  and  Foreign, 
is  that  of  thanksgiving.  “Thanks  be  unto  God,  who 
giveth  us  the  victory” — victory  against  an  unholy 
war  and  for  righteousness  in  international  dealings 
and  world  ideals;  victory  in  the  marvelous  achieve¬ 
ments  of  the  Allies  and  our  own  nation,  and  thanks¬ 
giving,  too,  for  the  success  granted  to  the  American 
Bible  Society  in  meeting  its  opportunities  and  respon¬ 
sibilities;  for  the  faith  and  courage  of  its  governing 
Board;  for  the  strenuous  and  loyal  labors  of  its  of¬ 
ficers  and  workers;  for  the  financial  support  of  the 
believers  in,  and  beneficiaries  of,  God’s  Word;  for 
the  blessing  which  has  multiplied  the  Bread  of  Life 
to  the  feeding  of  a  vast  multitude  the  world  over. 

Despite  war  conditions,  decreased  appropriations, 
increased  expenses  and  the  impossibility  of  importing 
Scriptures  in  scores  of  foreign  languages  to  meet  the 
demands  in  the  Americas,  the  issues  during  1918  were 
more  by  1,222,143  voltunes  than  in  1917.  The 
total  for  the  year  was  6,040,707,  as  against  4,818,564 
the  previous  year.  It  was  the  Lord’s  doings. 

From  the  Bible  House,  New  York,  the  increase 
was  nearly  two  million  (1,835,581).  This  magnificent 
result  was  due  mainly  to  the  large  output  of  Army 
and  Navy  Scriptures.  During  1918  the  total  munber 
of  volumes  issued  from  the  Bible  House  was  4,480,058 
— the  largest  in  the  Society’s  history.  These  consisted 
of  208,788  Bibles,  2,299,536  Testaments,  and  1,971,734 
portions.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  Testaments 
issued  exceeded  the ,  munber  of  portions.  This  is 
most  unusual,' and  was  largely  due  to  the  great  number 
of  the  khaki  Testaments  furnished  for  war  distribu¬ 
tion. 

The  grand  total  issue.  Heme  and  Foreign,  was 
6,040,707  volumes;  viz.:  235,780  Bibles,  2,423,722 
Testaments,  and  3,381,205  portions.  Jn  these  figures 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY  15 

the  portions  exceed  the  Testaments,  due  to  the  issues 
of  the  Foreign  Agencies.  Analyzing  the  figures  we 
find  that  the  Foreign  Agencies  show  an  issue  of 
1,368,769  during  1918,  against  1,951,532  in  1917. 
This  reduction  has  been  particularly  in  the  three 
Foreign  Agencies — Japan,  China,  and  Korea — which 
usually  have  the  largest  issues;  and  again  we  may 
draw  comfort  from  the  fact  that  this  decrease  was 
owing  solely  to  lack  of  appropriations,  and  sorely 
felt  by  those  who  hunger  for  the  bread  of  life. 

Circulation 

The  total  circulation  of  the  year  as  distinguished 
from  issues  cannot  be  accurately  stated,  because,  only 
a  few  of  the  agencies  through  which  distribution  is 
effected  report  their  circulation. 

An  interesting  situation  arises  under  this  head. 
The  circulation  of  Scriptures  by  our  Agencies  de¬ 
pends  on  two  human  factors — the  number  of  workers 
and  the  number  of  volumes  available.  The  con¬ 
tinued  and  material  reduction  in  appropriations  of 
course  curtailed  the  number  of  workers.  The  stock 
of  Scriptures,  already  exhausted  during  previous 
lean  years,  could  not  be  replenished  adequately  to 
meet  the  known  calls,  let  alone  the  unknown  needs. 
The  circulation  therefore  in  Foreign  Agencies  again 
fell  behind  that  of  the  previous  year,  being  1,785,153 
volumes  as  against  2,497,024  the  previous  year. 
Only  in  one  Agency,  Siam,  was  there  an  increase  over 
the  previous  year,  the  decrease  in  all  others  being 
very  considerable.  There  was  also  a  marked  de¬ 
crease  in  the  circulation  by  the  Home  Agencies, 
the  number  of  volumes  reported  being  838,733,  as 
against  1,099,185.  The  decrease  was  almost  uniform 
throughout  the  Agencies,  the  only  exceptions  being 
the  two  oldest — the  Colored  and  the  Northwestern, 
which  report  increases. 

Nevertheless,  the  total  circulation  in  America  is 


STORY  OF  THE 


16 

one  of  the  largest  on  record.  The  volumes  specially 
prepared  for  and  circulated  among  the  soldiers  and 
sailors  were,  for  special  reasons,  distributed  chiefly 
from  the  Bible  House;  and,  as  this  distribution  was 
over  three  and  a  quarter  million  (3,292,734),’  it 
greatly  increases  the  total  in  which,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  the  Home  Agencies  would  have  par¬ 
ticipated. 

Up-to-Date  Business  Enterprise 

As  an  indication  of  the  up-to-date  business  enter¬ 
prise  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  in  its  eagerness 
to  meet  every  possible  need,  the  attention  of  our 
friends  and  supporters  is  asked  to  the  following 
facts : 

First :  In  response  to  repeated  calls  for  Concordance 
Bibles,  the  Board  of  Managers  authorized  their  pub¬ 
lication,  and  the  Rev.  Jesse  L.  Hurlbert,  D.D.,  was 
asked  to  compile  a  special  Concordance  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  people.  Encouraging  progress  upon  the 
difficult  work  of  its  preparation  was  made  during 
1918,  and  it  is  expected  that  the  American  Bible 
Society’s  Concordance  Bibles  will  be  available  by  the 
end  of  the  year  1919. 

Second:  Since  the  outbreak  of  the  world  war  it 
has  been  impossible  to  import  Scriptures  from  the 
enemy  countries.  The  stock  on  hand  in  1914  was 
soon  exhausted,  and  the  needs  of  the  “strangers  in 
our  midst  ”  for  the  Word  of  God  in  their  own  languages 
could  not  be  met.  So  insistent  and  constant  were 
the  calls  that  the  Society  ventured  to  respond  to  the 
demand,  although  it  involved  an  initial  estimated 
outlay  of  $50,000.  Professor  Osv/ald  T.  Allis,  of 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  was  asked  to  super¬ 
vise  the  preparation  of  plates  by  the  photographic 
reproduction  process. 

To  this  task  Professor  Allis  brought  unusual  gifts 
and  adaptability,  and  gave  himself  with  consecration 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY  17 

and  enthusiasm  to  the  work  during  the  summer  of 
1918.  As  a  result  of  his  labors  and  the  initiative  of 
the  Society,  beautiful  thin-paper  Bibles  have  been 
issued,  and  are  meeting  a  great  demand,  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  seven  languages:  Russian,  Hungarian,  Bul¬ 
garian,  Lithuanian,  Roumanian,  Finnish,  and  Polish. 

Third :  Since  America  entered  the  war  there  has  been 
an  increasing  call  for  Testaments  in  many  of  the  foreign 
languages  for  our  American  soldiers  and  sailors  who 
are  not  acquainted  with  English  sufficiently  to  read  it 
readily.  A  very  general  desire  was  expressed  by  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  others  for  New  Testaments  practically 
in  the  same  size  as  the  khaki  English  Testament — 
which  has  proven  so  popular — in  French,  Italian, 
Russian,  Modern  Greek,  Spanish,  Yiddish,  Portu¬ 
guese,  Polish,  Roumanian,  etc.  No  such  books  were 
in  existence  in  this  country  and  none  procurable 
abroad.  With  great  earnestness.  Professor  Allis  de¬ 
voted  himself  to  the  preparation  of  Testaments  in  the 
ten  languages  mentioned  above,  and  to-day  a  series 
of  attractive  thin-paper  pocket  Testaments  is  ready 
for  the  church  and  its  many  organizations  in  the 
great  work  of  winning  our  foreign-language  soldiers 
and  American  citizens  to  a  living  faith  in  a  living 
Saviour. 

Space  does  not  permit  a  detailed  record  of  all  that 
was  involved  in  the  preparation  and  publication  of 
these  Bibles  and  Testaments.  Innumerable  ques¬ 
tions  arose  as  to  versions,  styles  of  type  to  be  used, 
form  and  appearance  of  the  volumes,  etc.,  etc. 

The  issuing  of  the  Russian  Bible  was  particularly 
complicated.  Professor  Allis  considered  it  essential 
that  the  Holy  Synod  Revision  Bible  should  be  the 
version  used.  Only  a  few  had  been  imported  and  the 
country  and  Russian  churches  were  “combed”  for 
a  copy  to  be  photographed  and  so  reproduced.  A 
cable  message  to  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  So¬ 
ciety,  even,  failed  to  secure  one  in  England.  But 
2 


STORY  OF  THE 


18 

finally,  after  weeks  of  patient  effort,  two  copies  ap¬ 
peared  simultaneously,  and  now  the  Russian  Bible 
in  the  Holy  Synod  Version  is  an  accomplished  fact 
and  is  in  great  demand. 


Staff  Changes 


The  most  important  item  we  have  to  record  is  the 
retirement  of  the  Rev.  John  Fox,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  from 

the  Corresponding  Secre¬ 
taryship  of  the  Society. 
Early  in  March,  1918,  Dr. 
Fox  had  a  return  of  a  dif¬ 
ficulty  which  had  caused 
him  serious  concern  a  year 
previous.  It  was  hoped 
that  after  a  few  weeks  of 
entire  rest  he  would  be 
able,  as  he  was  the  3^ear 
before,  to  resume  his  duties 
at  the  Bible  House.  It  be¬ 
came  evident,  however,  that 
this  was  not  going  to  be 
possible,  and  he  requested 
the  Board  of  Managers  to 
relieve  him  from  his  re¬ 
sponsibilities.  They  ac¬ 
cepted  his  resignation,  to 
take  effect  the  first  of 
July,  and  made  a  suitable  and  satisfactory  provision 

for  his  retirement. 

Dr.  Fox  was  elected  one  of  the  Corresponding 
Secretaries  of  the  Society  in  November,  1898.  At 

that  time  he  was  minister  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  now  the  Spencer  Memo¬ 
rial.  His  responsibilities  have  taken  him  all  over  the 
United  States,  and  in  connection  with  the  celebration 
of  the  Centennial  of  Missions  in  China  he  visited  the 
Far  East  in  1906  and  1907,  conferring  on  the  way 


REV.  JOHN  FOX,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 


19 

with  the  secretaries  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  in  London,  and  with  the  correspondents  of 
the  Society  in  France  and  Italy,  visiting  also  India  and 
the  Agencies  of  the  Society  in  Siam,  China,  Korea, 
and  Japan.  He  arranged  and  conducted  the  World’s 
Bible  Congress  in  connection  with  the  Panama  Ex¬ 
position  in  San  Francisco  in  1915.  He  also  rep¬ 
resented  the  Society  at  the  Panama  Congress,  at 
Panama,  in  1916.  In  the  division  of  the  corre¬ 
spondence  of  the  Society  in  the  office  he  had  charge 
of  the  Agency  among  the  Colored  People  of  the  South, 
the  South  Atlantic,  Atlantic,  and  the  Pacific  Agencies 
in  the  home  field.  In  the  foreign  fields  he  was  par¬ 
ticularly  responsible  for  the  correspondence  with  the 
West  Indies,  Brazil,  Siam,  and  China.  His  devotion 
to  the  work  is  known  of  all  men.  There  has  been  no 
truer  or  more  stalwart  champion  of  the  Holy  Scrip¬ 
tures  than  Dr.  Fox. 

At  the  request  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  the 
President  of  the  Society,  Mr.  James  Wood,  prepared 
the  following  letter  as  its  recorded  expression  of  its 
regard  and  affection : 

“June  6,  1918. 

“Rev.  John  Fox,  D.D.,  LL.D.. 

“64  Carleton  Street, 

“East  Orange,  N.  J. 

Dear  Dr.  Fox:  Your  letter  resigning  your  position 
of  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  American  Bible 
Society,  because  of  the  condition  of  your  health,  was 
read  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Managers, 
and  was  accepted  with  deep  regret. 

“The  attendance  at  the  meeting  was  unusually 
large,  and  there  was  evident  a  deep  sense  of  the  serious¬ 
ness  and  importance  of  your  action,  manifested  in 
the  impressive  pause  that  followed  the  reading.  A 
number  of  gentlemen  gave  expression  of  their  admira¬ 
tion  for  your  character  as  a  Christian  gentleman,  for 
your  profound  convictions  on  matters  of  fundamental 


20 


STORY  OF  THE 


FRANK  H.  MANN 

importance,  and  for  your  unreserved  devotion  to  your 
conceptions  of  duty.  There  was  a  general  expression 
of  appreciation  of  your  services  to  the  Society. 

“The  warmest  personal  regard  was  manifested 
in  the  earnest  hope  expressed  that  your  health 
may  be  speedily  restored,  and  that  there  may 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY  21 

be  granted  you  many  years  of  happiness  and  service. 

“I  was  appointed  to  convey  to  you  a  statement  of 
these  matters,  which  will  be  placed  upon  the  records. 

“I  am,  dear  Dr.  Fox,  with  the  expression  of  my 
affectionate  personal  regard, 

“Very  truly  yours, 

“James  Wood, 

''President.  ” 

In  February,  1919,  the  Board  of  Managers  unani¬ 
mously  elected  as  a  worthy  successor  of  Dr.  Fox,  Mr. 
Frank  H.  Mann,  an  account  of  whose  life  will  be 
found  in  the  Bible  Society  Record  of  February,  1919. 

The  New  Recording  Secretary 

The  Rev.  Lewis  Birge  Chamberlain,  M.A.,  who  had 
been  engaged  by  the  Society  to  assist  the  staff  during 
the  Centennial,  was,  on  the  third  of  January,  1918, 
elected  Recording  Secretary. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  was  born  at  Vellore,  India,  in 
1864,  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jacob  Chamberlain,  the 
famous  missionary  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  Amer¬ 
ica.  He  came  to  this  country  for  his  college  educa¬ 
tion,  graduating  at  Rutgers  College  in  1886.  He 
spent  one  year,  1886-1887,  in  the  service  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Tract  Society;  taught  the  next  year  in  the  Rut¬ 
gers  College  Preparatory  School;  graduated  from  the 
New  Brunswick  Seminary  in  1891;  was  ordained  in 
that  year  as  a  missionary,  and  joined  the  Arcot  Mis¬ 
sion.  From  that  time  until  1914  he  was  stationed 
at  Madanapalle,  India,  with  brief  intervals  at  other 
stations. 

Retiring  from  mission  work  in  1915,  to  give  his 
daughters  a  home  and  an  education,  he  entered  the 
service  of  the  Society,  in  which  he  has  now  been  pro¬ 
moted  to  his  present  responsible  position. 

No  changes  occurred  among  the  Home  Agency 
Secretaries. 


22 


STORY  OF  THE 


'  ^ ' 


Wi‘ 


THE  REV.  LEWIS  BIRGE  CHAMBERLAIN 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 


23 


Foreign  Agency  Secretaries 

In  the  foreign  field,  Dr.  Jose  Marcial-Dorado,  of 
Madrid,  Spain,  was  appointed  to  the  care  of  the  West 
Indies  Agency. 

The  Rev.  W.  F.  Jordan,  of  the  Mexico  Agency,  was 
transferred  to  the  Panama  Canal  and  Central  America 
Agency,  and  the  Rev.  A.  H.  Mellen  was  engaged  to 
take  charge  of  the  work  in  Mexico  in  the  absence  of 
Mr.  Jordan. 

The  Rev.  Franklin  E.  Hoskins,  D.D.,of  the  Presby¬ 
terian  Mission  in  Syria,  desiring  to  return  to  his  field 
from  the  United  States,  was  appointed  to  have  charge 
of  the  Arabic-speaking  portion  of  the  Levant  Agency 
in  connection  with  his  other  work. 

By  action  of  the  Board  during  the  year  the  term 
.  “Agent,  ”  so  long  used  in  the  foreign  field,  was  changed 
and  the  representatives  abroad  were  designated  as 
‘  ‘Agency  Secretaries,  ”  as  they  had  been  for  some  time 
in  the  home  field. 

In  Memoriam 

Three  Vice-Presidents  and  two  Managers  were  lost 
to  the  Bible  Society  during  the  year  by  death:  the 
Honorable  Charles  W.  Fairbanks,  of  Indiana,  who 
died  on  June  4,  1918;  Edward  H.  Sholl,  M.D.,  of 
Alabama,  who  died  on  July  13,  1918,  and  Gerard 
Beekman,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  who  died  on  November 
9,  1918,  being  Vice-Presidents;  Silas  B.  Brownell, 
LL.D.,  of  New  York,  who  died  on  June  12,  1918,  and 
James  W.  Pearsall,  of  New  Jersey,  who  died  on  June 
23,  1918,  being  Managers. 

Newly  Elected  Managers 

Logan  C.  Murray,  New  York  City,  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Managers  on  June  6,  1918, 
while  Prof.  Oswald  T.  Allis,  Ph.D.,  of  Princeton, 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Versions, 
and  the  Rev.  Frederick  H.  Knubel,  D.D.,  a  member 
of  the  Committee  on  Anniversaries. 


24 


STORY  OF  THE 

Newly  Elected  Vice-Presidents 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Board  held  on  April  4,  1918, 
William  S.  Pilling,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  eleeted  a 
Vice-President  of  the  Society;  and  at  its  meeting  on 
June  6,  1918,  the  Hon.  Robert  Lansing,  LL.D.,  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  was  also  elected  a  Vice- 
President. 

Life  Directors  and  Life  Ivlembers 

During  1918  eight  Life  Directors  and  ninety-seven 
Life  Members  were  added  to  the  rolls  of  the  Society. 

Translation  and  Revision 

An  important  phase  of  the  Society’s  work  is  the 
supervising  and  assisting,  by  men  and  means,  in 
the  production  of  new  translations  of  the  Scriptures 
and  in  the  revision  of  tentative  versions.  In  brief, 
the  accomplishments  during  1918  were  as  follows: 

Spanish. — During  the  year  the  tentative  version 
prepared  by  the  Committee  in  Madrid,  the  subject 
of  review  and  comment  by  many  in  the  Spanish¬ 
speaking  fields  of  the  Society.  These  comments 
received  at  the  Bible  House,  and  gathered  together  for 
final  action  preparatory  to  the  bringing  out  of  the 
edition  for  general  use.  The  comments  so  far  indi¬ 
cate  appreciation  of  this  work  of  revision. 

Brazil. — The  revised  Portuguese  Version  is  meeting 
with  favor,  while  the  demand  for  an  edition  with 
references  is  increasing  and  most  insistent. 

Levant. — Some  progress  has  been  made  during  the 
year  in  the  translation  of  the  Four  Gospels  into 
Mukri  Kurdish  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fossum,  now  at 
home  in  this  country,  owing  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
war. 

Siam.- — Work  has  been  going  forward  on  the  trans¬ 
lation  of  St.  Mark  for  the  Kaw  and  Lahu  mountain 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY  25 

tribes.  The  revision  of  the  Psalms  in  Siamese  has 
been  completed.  Progress  is  being  made  on  the  re¬ 
vision  of  Proverbs  in  the  Lahu  dialect. 

China. — In  the  Wenli  Bible  the  checking  of  the 
unification  of  the  proper  names  in  the  Old  Testament 
with  the  Mandarin  Version  has  been  completed.  In 
the  Mandarin,  changes  have  been  made  in  the  text 
of  the  New  Testament  which  was  revised  some  years 
ago  to  adjust  it  to  the  Old  Testament,  revision  of 
which  has  just  been  completed. 

The  Future  Outlook 

The  outlook  for  the  future  is  inspiring.  It  is  a 
time  of  unprecedented  opportunity.  Never  were  the 
calls  for  Scriptures  from  all  sections  of  war-torn 
Europe  and  from  every  corner  of  the  earth  so  many 
and  so  insistent.  The  Society  is  overwhelmed  with 
its  possibilities  and  its  responsibilities.  Who  will 
help  meet  the  needs  ? 

White  Fields  of  France 

The  war  has  opened  the  field  of  France,  and  Bel¬ 
gium,  and  Italy  in  a  way  that  is  without  precedent. 
President  Wilson’s  appeal  to  the  American  people 
to  supply  the  men  of  the  American  Army  and  Navy 
with  Testaments  as  essential  to  morale,  has  had  a 
marked  effect  on  the  people  of  these  countries  in 
arousing  interest  in  the  Bible.  This  sudden  demand 
must  be  met  by  the  religious  workers  of  the  United 
States.  For  many  years  the  American  Bible  Society 
has  assisted  the  Bible  Society  of  France  and  the  Bible 
Society  of  Belgium,  as  well  as  the  Evangelical  Society 
of  Geneva  working  in  France,  together  with  the 
Waldensians  and  similar  churches  in  'Italy.  The 
Bible  Society  of  France  has  just  sent  a  special  appeal 
asking  for  thousands  of  dollars  for  their  immediate 
necessities.  Their  requests,  we  know,  are  too  modest. 
We  should  have  $25,000  at  once  for  co-operation  with 


STORY  OF  THE 


26 

the  existing  Bible  Societies  in  France  and  Belgium, 
and  $10,000  to  $15,000  for  immediate  use  in  Italy 
and  Switzerland. 


The  Exhausted  East 

In  the  Near  East,  also,  the  call  is  upon  us,  and  such 
an  opportunity  as  has  not  been  known  for  generations. 
The  stock  of  Christian  Bibles  in  Turkey,  in  Bulgaria, 
and  in  Asia  Minor  is  exhausted.  The  vicissitudes  of 
the  war  have  prevented  contact  with  the  presses  that 
have  served  the  Society  in  those  regions.  Now  we 
must  immediately  meet  these  emergencies.  Any 
ordinary  appropriation  for  a  normal  year  would  fall 
far  short  of  what  is  wanted  at  once.  The  plates  must 
be  taken  out  from  hiding.  They  have  been  secreted 
so  as  to  escape  being  made  into  munitions  of  war. 
Now  they  must  be  put  on  the  presses  and  large 
editions  run  off,  which  requires  paper,  labor,  etc. 
These  books  must  in  large  part  be  given  away,  and  no 
returns  can  be  expected. 

Latin  America 

In  addition,  there  are  the  urgent  needs  for  replenish¬ 
ing  the  stock  in  all  the  other  foreign  fields,  as  in 
Latin  America,  where  the  difficulties  connected  with 
shipping  during  the  last  two  or  three  years  have  al¬ 
most  caused  a  famine  of  the  Scriptures. 

Kipling  is  right  when  he  says : 

It  ain’t  the  guns,  nor  armament, 

Nor  funds  that  they  can  pay. 

But  the  close  co-operation 
That  makes  them  win  the  day. 

It  ain’t  the  individuals, 

Nor  the  army  as  a  whole, 

But  the  everlasting  team  work 
Of  every  bloomin’  soul. 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 


27 


A  Tabulated  Bird’s-eye  View 

The  following  tabulated  statements  of  the  Society’s 
world-wide  work  give  a  bird’s-eye  view  of  the  great 
accomplishments  during  1918.  Endeavor  to  visualize 
the  figures,  and  the  statements  will  then  reveal  the 
extensive  and  expensive  activities  of  the  Society. 

Issues  in  America 

January  1  to  December  31,  1918 


Issued  from  Bible  House, 

Bibles 

Test’s 

Portions 

Total 

New  York,  by  the 
shipping  department. 

208,649 

675,739 

1,970,599 

2,856,049 

Scriptures  for  the  Blind. 

1,062 

Issued  from  Schlueter 

and  Tapley  (Army 
and  Navy) . 

886,985 

886,985 

From  Tapley  to  Y.  M. 

C.  A.,  not  included  in 
above . 

2,050 

2,050 

Issues  under  charge  of 
Y.  M.  C.  A . 

734,435 

734,435 

Total . 

208,649 

2,299,209 

1,971,661 

4,479,519 

By  Home  Agencies  (pur- 

chased) . 

139 

327 

73 

539 

Grand  Total . 

208,788 

2,299,536 

1,971,734 

4,480,058 

Issues- 

—Foreign  Agencies 

January 

1  to  December  31, 

1918 

Levant: 

Bibles 

Test's 

Portions 

Total 

Bulgaria  and  Turkey 

4,662 

7,012 

34,211 

45,885 

Bgypt  (purchased) . . . 

4,638 

3,550 

27,177 

35,365 

La  Plata  (purchased).. . 

1,440 

2,387 

7,020 

10,847 

Japan  (summary) . 

Blind . 

5,550 

47,591 

55,862  1 
69  ) 

109,072 

China . 

4,842 

29,278 

753,265 

787,385 

Brazil  (purchased) . 

136 

111 

1 

248 

Mexico  (purchased) .... 
Korea  (printed  and  pur- 

2,213 

12 

266 

2,491 

chased) . 

West  Indies . 

123 

7,619 

169,737 

177,479 

Siam  and  Laos . 

Panama  Canal  and  Cen- 

31 

1,294 

181,722 

183,047 

tral  America  (purch’d) 
Philippines  (purchased 

12 

76 

130 

218 

and  printed) . 

1,690 

2,542 

12,500 

16,732 

Total  Issues . 

25,337 

101,472 

1,241,960 

1,368,769 

STORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 


Summary  of 

Issues, 

1918 

Bibles 

Test’s 

Portions 

Total 

At  Home . 

208,788 

2,299,536 

1,971,734 

4,480,058 

By  Foreign  Agencies .  .  . 
By  Foreign  Correspond- 

25,337 

101,472“ 

1,241,960 

1,368,769 

ents . 

1,655 

22,714 

167,511 

191,880 

Total  Summary. . . . 

235,780 

2,423,722 

3,381,205 

6,040,707 

Circulation — Home  Agencies 

January 

1  to  December  31, 

1918 

Agencies. 

Bibles 

Test’s 

Portions 

Total 

Colored . 

10,166 

14,074 

17,529 

41,769 

Northwestern . 

29,026 

175,444 

72,503 

276,973 

South  Atlantic . 

9,637 

27,864 

48,066 

85,567 

Western . 

7,779 

16,035 

10,404 

34,218 

Pacific . 

6,568 

20,522 

47,252 

74,342 

Southwestern . 

9,727 

45,500 

28,745 

83,972 

Eastern . 

3,157 

9,673 

17,263 

30,093 

Central . 

6,840 

23,158 

22,041 

52,039 

Atlantic  and  Penn.  B.  S.. 

18,131 

39,506 

102,123 

159,760 

Total . 

101,031 

371,776 

365,926 

838,733 

Circulation — Foreign  Agencies 

January 

1  to  December  31, 

1918 

Agencies. 

Bibles 

Test’s 

Portions 

Total 

West  Indies . 

3,768 

2,933 

4,350 

11,051 

Mexico. . . 

Panama  Canal  and  Cen- 

2,269 

2,054 

66,617 

70,940 

tral  America . 

3,211 

5,190 

30,752 

39,153 

La  Plata . 

11,414 

11,271 

22,455 

45,140 

Brazil . 

4,267 

4,867 

10,468 

19,602 

f  Salonica . 

68 

265 

450 

783 

T  J  Turkey  and 

Levant  ,  Bulgaria.... 

4,634 

6,993 

22,688 

34,315 

1  Egypt . 

4,134 

5,069 

21,536 

30,739 

Siam . 

49 

586 

146,717 

147,352 

China . 

7,379 

31,747 

995,183 

1,034,309 

Japan . 

5,053 

40,494 

46,988 

92,535 

Korea . 

390 

6,838 

206,511 

213,739 

Philippines . 

3,141 

12,569 

29,785 

45,495 

Total  Circulation.. . 

49,777 

130,876 

1,604,500 

1,785,153 

Summary  of  Circulation,  1918 

Bibles 

Test’s 

Portions 

Total 

Home  Agencies . 

101,031 

371,776 

365,926 

838,733 

Donation  to  the  Y.  M. 

C.  A . 

1,623,470 

130,876 

1,623,470 

1,78.5,153 

Foreign  Agencies . 

49,777 

1,604,500 

Foreign  Correspondents. 

1,655 

22,714 

167,511 

191,880 

Total . 

152,463 

2,148,836 

2,137,937 

4,439,236 

THE  HOME  AGENCIES 

The  Colored  People  of  the  South 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  J.  P.  Wragg,  D.D., 

35  Gammon  Avenue,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

Established  1901.  Field:  Fifteen  Southern  States.  Circulation  in  1918, 
41,769  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since  1901,  573,470  volumes. 

The  work  of  the  Home  Agencies  follows  in  the 
order  of  their  establishment.  The  first  Agency  to  be 
established  was  in  I'QOl,  with  a  view  to  circulating 
the  Scriptures  among  the  colored  people,  chiefly  in 
the  Southern  States.  This  Agency  has  been  in  charge 
of  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Wragg,  D.D.,  from  the  time  it  was 
established,  and  far-reaching  work  has  been  done 
among  the  large  colored  population  of  our  Southern 
States. 

As  already  noted,  there  was  a  considerable  de¬ 
crease  in  the  aggregate  distribution  through  the 
Home  Agencies,  owing  to  the  decreased  staff  of  col¬ 
porteurs,  very  limited  appropriations,  lack  of  Scrip¬ 
tures,  etc.  Had  the  Home  Agencies  been  the  avenues 
through  which  the  Army  and  Navy  Scriptures  have 
been  distributed,  every  Agency  would  probabl}^ 
have  reported  an  increase  in  circulation.  As  the 
statistics  stand,  only  one  Foreign  Agency — Siam — 
and  two  Home  Agencies — the  Agency  for  the  Colored 
People  and  the  Northwestern — report  an  increase. 
In  both  of  these  Agencies  extensive  distribution  of 
Army  and  Navy  editions  supplemented  the  work  of  the 
Home  Office. 

Dr.  Wragg  rejoices  in  the  unexpected  increase  in 
circulation  in  his  Agency  and  feels  abundantly 
rewarded  for  his  unusually  hard  and  busy  year.  The 
requests  and  orders  for  Bibles  and  Testaments  in  the 
depository  were  unprecedentedly  numerous  and  the 
faithful  colporteurs  were  assiduous  and  indefatigable 
in  their  efforts.  Extensive  work  was  done  among 
soldiers,  sailors  and  men  engaged  in  shipbuilding,  and 


COLORED  PEOPLE 


30 

grants  of  Scriptures  were  made  to  many  poor  sehools 
and  needy  churches. 

Joyful  Results 

Writing  of  the  year’s  work,  Dr.  Wragg  says: 

“It  is  the  evening  of  December  31,  1918.  The 
shadow  of  darkness  is  eoming  upon  us  and  we  are 
closing  our  record  for  the  year.  What  are  our  thoughts 
as  they  go  backward  over  these  days? 

“A  year  of  war,  bloodshed,  suffering,  self-sacrifice, 
offerings,  conseeration,  and  prayer — it  was  a  year  of 
strenuousness  taxing  us  to  our  uttermost. 

“Our  feelings  are  on  wings  of  joy  as  we  contemplate 
the  results.  Our  appropriation  was  the  smallest  we 
have  ever  had  with  which  to  operate,  our  foree  of 
colporteurs  few  in  number,  and  the  field  which  we 
eould  cover  limited;  yet  after  all  that  could  be  said 
we  closed  up  with  a  creditable  advance  in  circulation 
and  collections. 

“During  these  twelve  months  we  eirculated  9,957 
Bibles,  13,913  Testaments,  17,264  portions,  a  total 
of  41,134  eopies,  an  increase  of  3,543  over  1917. 
The  miles  traveled  were  fewer,  but  the  places  worked 
were  worked  thoroughly.  Mills  and  coalfields  must 
be  visited  and  hunted  out,  for  to  the  men  at  these 
places,  when  once  interested,  the  Book  is  always  ac¬ 
ceptable. 

“The  results  obtained  in  the  cities  where  public 
employment  by  the  government  was  given  to  our 

people  were  simply  amazing. 

% 

The  Workers  and  their  Work 

“Our  Mr.  Benton  stuck  to  his  job  like  a  man. 
Rain,  snow,  hail,  and  sleet  did  not  stop  him.  Once  he 
was  shut  in  so  that  he  could  not  move  on  because  of 
the  river  being  too  high  for  him  to  wade.  His  report 
was  not  so  large  this  week  and  he  was  a  little  dis¬ 
couraged  over  it.  The  next  week  we  hear  from  him 


COLORED  PEOPLE 


31 


A  colporteur’s  visit  in  ALABAMA 

at  a  large  mine  where  the  men  are  just  paid  off  and 
are  proud  of  a  chance  to  get  the  books  and  he  is  very 
happy  to  let  them  have  them.  He  says  again,  ‘  The 
people  are  here  and  they  need  the  Bibles;  do  fill 
another  box  like  the  one  you  sent  before  and  get 
them  to  me  at  once.’  When  sending  this  faithful 
worker  books  we  must  fill  four  or  more  large  boxes. 


COLORED  PEOPLE 


32 

One  box  will  not  last  him  in  one  of  his  needy  terri¬ 
tories  very  long. 

“Mr.  Benton,  I  am  glad  to  say,  made  this  the  best 
year  since  he  has  been  with  us,  his  circulation  being 
10,100  copies.  He  has  been  with  us  for  thirteen 
years  and  seeks  to  make  each  year  his  best. 

“  Mr.  E.  W.  Dean  was  with  us  in  1917  and  returned 
in  1918  to  give  us  a  few  more  months  of  his  time. 
He  began  in  South  Carolina,  canvassing  a  few  towns; 
from  there  he  went  to  Newport  News,  Va.,  where 
he  had  a  chance  to  see  and  be  with  men  from  all 
parts  of  the  country.  The  soldiers  were  here  in  great 
numbers;  also  men  building  ships.  He  writes:  ‘I 
will  spend  this  whole  summer  working,  and  will  only 
reach  the  hem  of  this  mass  of  people.  ’  We  are  truly 
thankful  that  he  had  a  chance  to  spread  a  goodly 
number  of  books  among  these  men  before  he  was 
forced  to  quit,  on  account  of  illness. 

Politeness  and  Perseverance  Succeed 

“Mr.  S.  L.  Harrison  spent  six  months  in  the  work. 
He  did  not  impress  us  as  being  just  the  man  we  needed 
for  a  colporteur,  as  he  did  not  seem  to  be  very  talka¬ 
tive,  and  that  is  one  of  the  things  needed  in  this  work ; 
but,  coming  to  us  well  recommended,  we  concluded 
to  give  him  a  trial.  His  first  report  was  prompt  and 
showed  that  he  knew  what  he  was  about.  He  spent 
most  of  his  time  in  Savannah  and  Brunswick,  and 
each  week  showed  that  he  was  not  in  the  work  for 
play,  but  for  the  good  that  he  was  able  to  do  for  his 
fellowmen.  He  was  busy  day  and  night,  going  from 
house  to  house  with  his  grip  of  books  to  show  to  the 
people.  He  was  so  polite  one  could  scarcely  turn 
him  away  without  looking  at  his  books,  and  so  per¬ 
sistent  that  they  could  not  turn  him  down  after  he 
had  shown  them.  His  street  work  was  as  well  done  as 
his  house-to-house  canvassing.  No  matter  when  you 
met  this  faithful  worker  had  Bibles  with  him. 


COLORED  PEOPLE  33 

He  proved  himself  to  be  a  workman  who  needeth  not 
be  ashamed. 

Bible  Stand  at  Union  Station,  Atlanta 

“The  Rev.  S.  A.  Lucas  is  always  hard  at  it.  We 
have  had  to  call  his  attention  more  than  once  to 
slowing  up.  His  reports  are  always  among  the  best 
in  every  respect,  and  I  would  be  afraid  to  try  to 
attempt  to  tell  just  how  many  homes  he  visits  in  a 
day.  He  knows  his  business  and  goes  at  it  with  a 
will  and  might.  The  people  who  pass  the  Union  Sta¬ 
tion  in  this  city  (Atlanta)  are  sure  to  see  near  one 
of  the  prominent  corners  this  earnest  colporteur,  whose 
heart  is  in  the  work  and  who  is  able  to  convince  the 
passers-by  that  they  all  should  own  Bibles.  People 
who  come  into  the  city  from  the  rural  sections  and 
nearby  towns  know  where  to  find  this  Bible  stand  on 
Saturdays.  He  is  on  hand,  too,  ready  to  meet  them 
with  a  cheering  word  and  smile. 

Among  Mines  and  Steel  Plants 

“Mr.  J.  R.  Taylor  has  his  hands  full,  in  the  state 
of  Alabama.  He  has  been  with  us  since  last  May, 
and  finds  it  quite  interesting,  visiting  the  mines  and 
steel  plants,  getting  the  books  into  the  hands  of  those 
miners  and  workers,  who  sometimes  read  it  and  at 
other  times  send  it  home  to  their  loved  ones.  It  is 
not  always  an  easy  thing  to  get  to  work  these  mines 
and  plants,  but  when  the  men  see  that  you  are  seek¬ 
ing  them,  and  not  theirs,  they  learn  to  love  you  and 
trust  you.  Many  of  the  miners  have  big  hearts.  “ 

In  conclusion.  Dr.  Wragg  refers  again  to  the  con¬ 
stant  good  work  of  the  year : 

“You  will  thus  see  that  we  kept  too  busy  to  have 
any  pictures  taken  to  go  in  this  story,  and  my  men 
declared  they  did  not  have  the  time  to  note  all  of  the 
suffering,  and  the  good  and  bad  things  that  were  said 
to  them:  all  they  knew  in  1918  was  work,  and  the 

spreading  of  God’s  Word.  Give  Him  the  praise!” 

3 


Northwestern  Agency 

Agency  Secretary :  Rev.  S.  H.  Kirkbride,  D.D, 

332  South  Michigan  Avenue,  Chicago,  Ill. 

Established  1906.  Field :  Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minne¬ 
sota,  Iowa,  Nebraska,  North  Dakota,  and  South  Dakota,  Circula¬ 
tion  in  1918,  276,973  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since  1906, 
2,170,121  volumes. 

The  great  problem  of  the  year  was  how  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  people  in  this  extensive  Agency,  com¬ 
prising  nine  important  states,  with  the  greatly  re¬ 
duced  income.  The  distributing  force  had  to  be 
curtailed,  and  reached  its  lowest  point  in  the  history 
of  the  Agency. 

The  colportage  staff  consisted  of  only  five  persons. 
Three  of  these — G.  A.  Perkins,  Mrs.  D.  M.  Didriksen 
and  Otto  H.  Nater — labored  the  entire  year.  The 
Rev.  E.  W.  Jennett  served  nine  months  as  colporteur 
and  gave  three  months  to  field  work  for  the  War 
Scripture  Fund.  The  Rev.  Neil  Love  gave  five 
months  of  service. 

The  statistics  of  their  combined  labors  are:  Towns 
visited,  135;  miles  traveled,  17,015;  families  found 
without  Bibles  and  supplied,  870;  visits  made, 
32,069.  These  figures  support  the  claim  made  for 
these  five,  viz.,  they  are  a  choice  set  of  co-laborers, 
loving  their  work,  with  few  their  equals  as  colporteurs 
and  none  their  superiors,  who  daily  exemplify  the 
ideals  of  the  American  Bible  Society. 

This  and  the  Colored  Agency  are  the  only  two 
Home  Agencies  that  report  an  increase  in  the  circula¬ 
tion  over  1917.  The  distribution  for  1918  was 
29,026  Bibles,  175,444  Testaments,  and  only  72,503 
portions;  a  total  of  276,973  volumes  as  against 
252,333  in  1917 — an  increase  of  24,640,  or  about 
ten  per'cent.  By  way^of  explanation.  Dr.  Kirkbride 
writes : 

“The  report  for  last  year  closed  with  this  sentence: 
‘We  shall  go  forward  with  God  and  hope  that  the 


NORTHWESTERN  AGENCY 


35 

year  will  bring  many  pleasant  surprises.  ’  One 
‘pleasant  surprise,’  at  least,  has  been  given  us.  We 
fully  expected  that  the  reduction  of  our  field  force 
two  or  three  hundred  per  cent,  and  the  inability  to 
secure  books  in  most  of  the  European  languages,  would 
cause  a  marked  decrease  in  our  circulation.  It  was, 
therefore,  a  pleasant  surprise,  and  it  has  afforded  us 
much  gratification  to  learn  that  there  has  been  a 
marked  increase  in  the  distribution  for  the  year. 

“The  situation,  so  far  as  distribution  is  con¬ 
cerned,  was  saved  by  the  demand  for  Testaments 
for  our  enlisted  men.  Of  the  175,444  Testaments 
put  out  during  the  year  it  is  probable  that  fully 
100,000  were  the  Army  and  Navy  books. 

“One  other  fact  is  most  significant:  the  relatively 
small  number  of  portions  sold.  Up  to  two  years 
ago  the  major  part  of  the  books  sent  out  were  por¬ 
tions,  which  usually  equaled  the  combined  number  of 
Bibles  and  Testaments.  The  comparison  between 
the  number  of  Bibles  and  of  portions  circulated  this 
year  is  significant.  There  were  72,503  portions  dis¬ 
tributed,  which  is  only  two  and  one-half  times  the 
Bibles  sold.” 

Brief  Stories  of  the  Colporteurs 

Mr.  G.  A.  Perkins  writes : 

“The  larger  part  of  my  work  for  1918  has  been  at 
Evansville,  Ind.,  Sioux  City,  la.,  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D., 
and  Mankato  and  St.  Paul,  Minn. 

“I  have  visited  one  hundred  cities  and  towns 
during  the  year.  Seventy  of  these  were  visited 
during  the  three  months  that  I  was  in  field  work 
in  the  interest  of  the  War  Scripture  Fund.  I  have 
traveled  6,700  miles,  made  8,100  visits,  and  found 
550  homes  without  a  Bible  and  supplied  them  with 
Bibles,  Testaments,  and  Gospels.  The  distribution 
has  been:  450  Bibles,  4,000  Testaments,  1,100 
Gospels — a  total  of  5,550  volumes. 


36 


NORTHWESTERN  AGENCY 


G.  A.  PERKINS  AT  WORK 


“I  have  talked  with  many  Catholic  people  and 
several  Catholic  priests,  and  I  find  that  the  latter  are 
beginning  to  want  their  people  to  read  the  Bible. 
I  was  urged  by  them  to  help  distribute  Douay  Testa¬ 
ments  among  the  Catholic  soldiers.  Some  of  my 
work  this  year  has  been  with  Bohemians,  Bulgarians, 
Croatians,  Syrians,  and  Poles.  I  have  found  many 
of  these  people  without  Bibles. 

Work  among  Fisher  Folk  in  House  Boats 

“At  all  river  towns  I  visited  I  found  many  people 
living  in  house  boats  along  the  river  banks.  The 


NORTHWESTERN  AGENCY 


37 

work  among  these  people  is  very  interesting  to  me. 
Many  of  them  are  fishermen,  and  one  has  a  great 
opportunity  to  point  them  to  the  One  who  said:  ‘I 
will  make  you  fishers  of  men.’  One  of  them  said  to 
me:  ‘I  have  wanted  a  Bible  for  a  long  time.  Some¬ 
one  must  have  sent  you  here.  ’ 

One  Day’s  Work  in  South  St.  Paul 

“At  the  place  where  I  got  off  the  car  there  were 
several  saloons,  several  drunken  men,  and  loud  talk¬ 
ing  crowds  on  each  side  of  the  streets.  I  told  God  I 
was  up  against  a  hard  proposition  and  asked  him  to 
help  me.  I  started  in  with  the  saloons  and  pool  halls. 
The  distribution  for  the  day  was  50  volrunes,  among 
the  following  nationalities:  5  Bohemians,  4  Croatians, 
6  English,  1  French,  2  Hungarians,  1  Polish,  2  Rus¬ 
sians,  24  Roumanians,  1  Swedish,  4  Servians — making 
ten  languages  for  the  day.  Eight  Bibleless  homes 
‘  were  furnished  with  the  Scriptures.’’ 

Demand  for  Police. Bibles 

The  Rev.  E.  W.  Jennett  writes: 

“In  presenting  this,  my  ninth  annual  report  of 
colportage  work  with  the  American  Bible  Society,  it 
is  with  deep  satisfaction  that  I  am  able  to  state  that 
there  has  been  no  det-up’  in  the  interest  manifested 
in  the  Word  of  God.  Instead,  the  interest  has  in¬ 
creased. 

“This  is  more  specially  true  of  the  Polish  and  Hun¬ 
garian  peoples,  from  whom  there  has  come  continual 
demand  for  the  Word  of  God.  These  demand  the 
whole  Word,  many  refusing  to  take  a  portion,  even 
the  New  Testament.  A  large  number  of  Testaments 
have  been  supplied  to  Polish  people,  who  are  mostly 
Catholics,  many  of  whom  have  come  out  from  the 
Catholic  church  and  have  connected  themselves  with 
the  ‘Russellite’  organization.” 


38  NORTHWESTERN  AGENCY 

One  Hundred  Conversions  in  a  Police  Station 

Mr.  Otto  H.  Nater  writes: 

“We  have  had  a  good  year  in  Indianapolis  and 
vicinity.  Our  regular  Sabbath  morning  police  sta¬ 
tion  services,  where  we  furnish  the  men  and  boys  (and 
the  women  also)  with  Gospels  and  Testaments,  have 
been  kept  up.  Our  audiences  have  grown  much 
smaller,  we  are  glad  to  say,  since  Indiana  voted  dry. 
There  have  been  a  little  over  one  hundred  bright 
conversions. 

Tobacco  lyloney  for  Scriptures 

“Considerable  work  has  been  done  among  the 
colored  people,  of  whom  we  have  over  50,000  here. 
Some  time  ago,  while  selling  a  Bible  to  a  Sunday- 
school  teacher,  the  teacher  excused  himself  every  few 
moments  to  expectorate  tobacco  juice.  I  said, 
‘That’s  a  bad  habit  you’ve  got  and  a  bad  example  to 
your  scholars.’  Then  we  had  a  little  argument  on 
what  the  Bible  teaches  and  finally  he  said,  ‘Oh,  I 
know  you  have  the  best  of  the  argument,  and  I  know 
it’s  a  filthy  habit,  and  I’m  going  to  pray  and  clean  up 
and  ask  God  to  help  me  get  rid  of  it,  and  I  want  you 
to  pray  for  me.’  That  was  on  Saturday.  Monday 
morning  he  came  to  the  depository  and  just  opened 
the  door,  and  with  a  bright  face  said,  ‘  Say,  I  done  got 
the  victory  over  that  bad  habit  and  you  won’t  have 
to  ever  speak  to  me  about  that  again.  ’  I  didn’t,  and 
he  is  a  regular  customer.  Recently  he  has  been  com¬ 
ing  in  and  leaving  twenty-five  to  fifty  cents  a  week 
(presumably  his  tobacco  money)  for  the  colored  boys 
in  the  police  station, 

“A  short  time  ago  a  young  man  to  whom  we  had 
given  a  Testament  came  in  and  said,  ‘I  want  to  show 
you  the  book  you  gave  me  several  months  ago.  I’ve 
been  using  it.  ’  He  had.  It  was  worn  out.  He  got 
a  new  one. 

“We  have  disposed  of  513  Bibles,  4,203  Testaments 


NORTHWESTERN  AGENCY 


39 

and  4,382  Gospels  during  the  year  and  furnished 
Scriptures  in  the  following  languages:  Roumanian, 
Italian,  Hungarian,  French,  Greek,  Chinese,  and 
German.  I  have  done  work  in  twenty-one  towns. 
There  is  a  wide  field  for  labor  here,  and  I  believe  God 
is  blessing  the  work.  ” 

Mrs.  D.  M.  Didriksen 

Since  the  death  of  her  husband,  several  years  ago, 
Mrs.  Didriksen  has  carried  on  the  work  of  the  de¬ 
pository  at  Minneapolis.  Her  labor  is  confined  to 
the  city  itself,  but  her  brother-in-law,  the  Rev.  S.  K. 
Didriksen,  travels  widely  afield  and  puts  many 
volumes  of  Scriptures  in  circulation.  The  major 
part  of  their  sales  are  in  the  Scandinavian  languages. 
During  most  of  the  past  year  we  have  been  able  to 
supply  only  a  small  part  of  the  books  they  have  wanted, 
consequently  their  circulation  was  greatly  curtailed. 
The  report  is  as  follows: 

“The  distribution  for  the  year  was  3,062  volumes, 
the  majority  being  in  English  and  the  Scandinavian. 
Forty-one  hundred  visits  were  made  and  many 
families  and  individuals  without  Bibles  were  sup¬ 
plied.” 

Three  Thousand  Days  of  Scripture  Distribution 

The  Rev.  Neil  Love  says  in  his  report: 

“This  is  the  eleventh  annual  report  of  my  work  as 
colporteur  for  the  American  Bible  Society.  I  try 
to  grasp  its  full  import  at  times.  To  put  in  3,000 
days  or  more  handing  to  people  the  Word  of  Life  has 

grave  significance  for  the  bearer  of  such  a  message. 

t  ■ 

'i 

Business  Principle  Reversed — Supply  Creates 

Demand 

“I  resumed  my  work  in  the  Northwestern  Agency 
on  September  1st.  My  efforts  have  been  confined 
since  then  to  the  cities  of  Kalamazoo  and  Battle 


SOUTH  ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


40 

Creek.  I  think  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  any  two 
cities  of  their  population  where  more  Bibles  have  been 
disposed  of  than  have  been  sold  in  those  two  places 
in  the  last  three  years.  My  experience  in  those  two 
places  has  convinced  me  that  the  demand  for  the 
Bible  is  largely  increased  by  the  supply,  and  like 
an  opening  made  in  an  embankment  by  the  water, 
the  volume  pouring  through  it  is  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  the  opening.  Every  opening  to  the  human 
heart  has  been  enlarged  by  the  pressure  brought  to 
bear  upon  it,  and  too  often  the  sewers  of  a  filthy 
literature  have  filled  the  opening  where  the  river 
of  the  Water  of  Life  should  have  flowed. 

“My  wife  has  helped  me  in  my  canvassing.  Her 
years  of  experience  in  the  work  before  did  her  good 
service  when  she  resumed  it  for  a  few  months  this 
summer/’ 


South  Atlantic  Agency 

^  Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  M.  B.  Porter 

313  a  East  Grace  Street,  Richmond,  Va. 

Established  1907.  Field:  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida.  Circulation  in  1918,  85,567  vol¬ 
umes.  Aggregate  circulation  since  1907,  1,121,951  volumes. 

Thou  knowest  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth. 

“This  old  truth  has  had  a  peculiar  significance  in 
the  experiences  of  all  who  have  shared  in  the  work 
of  this  Agency  during  1918.  We  began  the  year  not 
only  with  many  of  the  handicaps  of  1917  still  present, 
but  with  additional  difficulties  and  new  problems 
with  which  to  reckon.  Yet,  in  the  midst  of  the 
handicaps,  and  in  spite  of  the  apprehensions,  we  have 
been  sustained  by  the  assurance  that  the  enterprise 
was  ‘ours’  because  we  are  ‘His’ — that  He  had  com¬ 
mitted  to  us  this  enterprise  because  He  desired  to 
share  with  us  the  ‘  service,  ’  that  we  may  share  with 
Him  the  ‘joy.’  He  has  not  failed  us  nor  refused 


SOUTH  ATLANTIC  AGENCY  41 

to  honor  the  demands  our  faith  has  made  on  Him. 
He  has  given  unmistakable  evidence  that  ‘He  favors 
what  has  been  begun.  ’  We  must  continue,  and  we  will 
succeed,  for  our  work  is  essential.  ” 

With  these  words  Mr.  Porter  begins  his  interesting 
report  of  the  year  under  review.  The  same  faith 
that  was  kis  comfort  has  sustained  all  the  workers  of 
the  American  Bible  Society  during  the  trying  years 
of  war;  for  all  lovers  of  the  Word  know  that  the 
Bible  is  a  living  book  that  the  world  needs,  and  that, 
therefore,  its  distribution  is  essential. 

The  Circulation 

On  account  of  the  reduced  staff,  the  circulation 
fell  from  105,197  volumes  in  1917,  to  85,567  in  1918. 
But  the  Army  and  Navy  distribution  is  not  in¬ 
cluded,  as  the  grants  were  largely  made  from  the 
Bible  House,  New  York.  However,  this  war  work 
was  considerably  supplemented  by  this  Agency,  as 
Mr.  Porter  shows.  He  says: 

Equipping  Our  Soldiers  with  the  “Sword  of  the 

Spirit” 

“Of  course  we  realized  in  supplying  our  soldiers 
with  the  Scriptures,  that  the  larger  work  would  be 
done  by  the  Society  through  the  War  Work  Council 
of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Although  this  was  true  we  have 
had  numerous  opportunities  to  supplement  this  work. 
As  far  as  our  resources  would  justify  we  have  made 
use  of  these  opportunities,  and  are  free  to  say  that 
no  phase  of  our  service  has  been  more  productive  of 
satisfactory  results. 

'i 

The  Hour  of  Matchless  Opportunity 

“  ‘Old  things  are  passed  away;  behold,  all  things 
are  become  new.  ’  As  so  often  in  the  life  of  his 
people,  God  rewards  for  work  well  done  by  giving 


SOUTH  ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


42 

greater  work  to  do.  Surely  he  has  brought  us  to  the 
hour  of  matchless  opportunity!  The  world  is  being 
taught  that  the  principles  of  the  gospel  are  the  eternal 
principles.  Men  believe  now  as  never  before  that 
the  only  brotherhood  is  that  which  had  its  supreme 
illustration  on  the  Cross  of  Calvary. 

The  Bible  the  Only  Hope  of  Lasting  Peace 

“On  the  field  of  battle,  in  the  camps,  in  the  hos¬ 
pitals,  in  the  homes,  in  places  of  labor  and  service — 
everywhere  men  and  women  have  found  that  the 
Bible  is  the  best  thing  to  sustain  their  hope  and  to 
nourish  their  faith.  This  old  book  must  be  made  su¬ 
preme  in  the  world  if  men  ‘shall  beat  their  swords 
into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears  into  pruning 
hooks';  if  ‘nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against 
nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more.’ 

“Here,  truly,  is  a  vision  that  allures;  here  a  task 
that  challenges!  May  the  spirit  of  faith,  courage 
and  hope  expressed  in  the  following  beautiful  lines 
be  ours: 


Ye  that  have  faith  to  look  with  fearless  eyes 
Beyond  the  tragedy  of  a  world  of  strife, 

And  know  that  out  of  death  and  night  shall  rise 
The  dawn  of  ampler  life. 

Rejoice,  whatever  anguish  rend  the  heart, 

That  God  has  given  you  a  priceless  dower. 

To  live  in  these  great  times  and  have  your  part 
In  Freedom’s  crowning  hour. 

That  ye  may  tell  your  sons  who  see  the  light 
High  in  the  heavens — their  heritage  to  take — 
“I  saw  the  powers  of  darkness  put  to  flight, 

I  saw  the  morning  break.  •  •  •  ”* 


*Verses  found  in  the  pocket  of  a  young  Australian  who  died  in  the 
trenches  at  Gallipoli,  and  quoted  in  “The  Practice  of  Friendship.” 

— Stewart-Wright. 


SOUTH  ATLANTIC  AGENCY  43 

News  From  the  Front 

Under  this  caption  Mr.  Porter  gives  scores  of  in¬ 
teresting  incidents  culled  from  the  reports  of  his 
thirty-nine  workers,  but  only  a  few  typical  ones  can  be 
noticed  here.  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  Annual 
Report  for  further  particulars.  He  says: 

The  Haunts  of  the  Bible-man 

“My  chosen  haunts  were  the  workshops,  the  mill 
villages,  and,  as  it  sometimes  happened  to  be,  the 
isolated  homes  in  a  quiet  spot,  where  the  Bible  was 
read,  perchance,  to  unlettered  ones  who  gladly 
listened,  and  some,  I  think,  might  have  said,  ‘Thy 
Word  have  I  hid  in  mine  heart,  ’  so  well  did  they  re¬ 
member  the  things  that  they  had  heard.  And  then 
again  others  with  simple  learning  would  tell  me  of 
things  that  they  had  read  in  ‘the  Book’  in  such  a 
faithful  and  enlightening  strain  I  sometimes  knew  I 
had  a  pleasant  teacher. 

Increased  Interest  in  Bible  Reading 

“I  have  found  more  diligent  Bible  readers  during 
the  year  than  ever  before  in  my  experience  as  a  col¬ 
porteur.  Often  when  I  would  show  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  to  someone  I  have  been  told,  ‘No,  I  want  the 
whole  Bible.  ’  This,  I  think,  is  one  result  of  the  world 
war. 

A  Shop  Supplied 

“At  a  machine  shop,  during  an  hour  when  the  men 
were  not  busy,  I  sold  everyone  a  Bible  or  Testament. 
A  gentleman  sitting  in  an  automobile  at  the  entrance 
of  the  shop  said  he  was  not  in  the  habit  of  reading 
the  Bible,  but  I  asked  to  be  allowed  to  show  him 
some  and  he  consented,  and  before  I  entered  the  shop 
he  had  bought  one  and  was  reading  it,  and  was  still 
reading  it  when  I  came  out.  Later,  as  I  came  back 
that  way,  a  man  who  was  not  present  when  the  others 


SOUTH  ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


44 

bought  called  me  and  got  a  Bible,  remarking,  ‘  This  is 
what  I  have  been  wanting  for  a  long  time.  ’ 

The  Bible  Not  Read  for  Thirteen  Years 

“I  was  showing  the  books  at  a  house  where  there 
was  a  caller,  and  the  girl  said  to  him,  ‘  Don’t  you  want 
one?’  He  answered,  ‘No,  I  have  not  read  in  the 
Bible  in  thirteen  years.’  I  did  not  appear  to  hear 
this,  but  while  I  continued  to  talk  to  the  girl  was  careful 
to  say  things  I  wanted  him  to  hear.  Presently  he 
said,  ‘Let  me  see  that  little  Testament.’  It  was  a 
pretty  book,  with  gold  edges.  ‘I  will  buy  this,’  he 
said,  and  did  so.  Then,  lifting  his  hat,  he  said  ‘  Good- 
by,  ’  and  went  on  his  way.  The  girl  said,  ‘  That  is  a 
very  wicked  man,  and  I  never  was  so  surprised  as 
when  he  bought  that  Testament.  ’ 

The  Promise  from  Two  Soldiers 

“  In  a  little  town  where  I  was  staying  my  landlady 
had  two  men  from  camp  to  dine;  they  were  strangers 
and  far  from  home.  After  dinner  we  talked  and  sang 
hymns,  and  before  parting  I  gave  each  a  little  Testa¬ 
ment.  Later  I  received  this  message  from  them:  ‘We 
will  read  these  Testaments,  and  should  we  be  found 
dead  on  the  battleground,  the  Testaments  will  be 
found  with  us.  ’ 


Diligent  Bible  Reading 

“People  generally  seem  to  be  reading  the  Bible 
more  diligently  since  the  world  war  began.  I  hope 
they  will  not  relax  when  peace  shall  be  established. 
Like  all  mountaineers,  the  West  Virginians  are  strong- 
minded,  but  they  need  suggestions.  They  say,  ‘  How 
can  I  understand  except  someone  guide  me?’ 

“The  nearly  fifty  thousand  volumes  placed  in  West 
Virginia  during  my  (the  Rev.  G.  W.  Fitzwater)  nine 
and  a  half  years’  colportage,  I  believe,  are  as  faithfully 
read  as  in  any  other  country;  and  I  have  gratifying 


SOUTH  ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


45 

evidence  that  mothers  are  more  than  ever  reading 
these  Scriptures  to  their  little  ones.  For  this  I  have 
exhorted  and  prayed  ever  since  Ftook  up  this  grand 
work. 

Some  Remarkable  Incidents 

“I  often  think  I  would  like  to  meet  again  with 
some  of  those  in  whose  hands  I  have  placed  the  Bible. 
Some  few  of  these  I  have  met  again,  and  some  of  the 
things  they  have  told  me  I  can  relate  from  memory. 

“A  woman  said,  ‘I  have  had  a  great  many  trials, 
but  now  when  they  seem  heaviest  I  go  and  read  in 
the  Bible,  and  it  refreshes  me  and  rests  me  as  nothing 
else  can  do.  ’ 

“Another  woman  said,  ‘The  Bible  has  made  such 
a  difference  in  our  home  that  I  wish  every  home  in 
the  world  had  one;  we  read  it  every  day  together, 
my  husband  and  I,  but  we  are  just  learners  now  and 
we  want  to  be  good  disciples. ' 

“One  poor  woman  said,  ‘I  was  a  wicked  woman,’ 
and  then  she  got  her  Bible  and  showed  me  the  words 
that  had  won  her  from  evil,  saying,  ‘  I  pray  for  grace 
that  I  may  help  others.  ’  She  bought  several  Testa¬ 
ments,  to  give  away,  she  said. 

“A  man  told  me  his  experience  as  follows :  ‘  I  was  a 
very  bad  man;  I  scoffed  at  religion  and  laughed  at 
those  who  prayed,  but  I  have  repented,  and  with  help 
from  above  I  will  forsake  my  sinful  ways  and  live  a 
Christian  life.  ’  He  gave  the  Bible  he  had  bought  from 
me  to  a  friend,  and  bought  another  one  for  himself. 

“Another  man  said  to  me,  ‘We  love  to  read  the 
Bible  now,  and  we  have  family  prayers  at  my  house 
every  night,  my  wife,  my  little  boy  and  I.  ’ 

This  Book,  >laybe,  Is  What  I  Want 

“In  a  public  square  a  man  sat  on  a  bench.  I  ap¬ 
proached  him  and  inquired,  ‘Do  you  want  a  Bible?’ 
‘Not  I,  sir,’  he  answered,  and  he  seemed  to  be  pur¬ 
posely  looking  elsewhere.  ‘  But,  brother,  ’  I  said,  as  I 


SOUTH  ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


46 

held  the  open  book,  ‘please  look  at  it.’  He  turned 
and  looked  at  the  open  pages  and  I  could  see  he  was 
reading  it.  Then  taking  the  book  from  my  hand  he 
read  a  little  more;  next,  looking  up  at  me,  he  said, 
‘  This  book  is  sold.  ’  He  paid  for  it,  thanking  me,  and 
then,  communing  with  himself,  I  heard  him  say, 
‘  This  book,  maybe,  is  what  I  want.  ’  His  eyes  again 
returned  to  the  book,  and  I  passed  on. 

A  Bible  Leads  to  the  Christian  Ministry 

“One  of  the  men  in  France  wrote  me  the  other  day 
that  he  still  found  great  joy  in  the  Christian  life. 
This  marine  was  sitting  on  the  front  bench  when  I 
entered  the  building  for  religious  service.  I  asked 
if  he  possessed  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures  and  he  replied 
in  the  negative.  ‘Will  you  read  this  one  if  I  give  it 
to  you?’  I  asked,  and  he  promised  to  do  so.  Later 
on  he  made  a  public  profession  of  faith  in  Christ  and 
has  determined  to  study  for  the  Christian  ministry.’’ 

The  Society’s  Crowning  Glory 

Mr.  Porter,  in  concluding  his  report,  says: 

“The  work  which  the  Society  does  among  the  poor 
and  the  outcast,  and  the  help  it  gives  to  these,  is  its 
‘crowning  glory.’  We  have  had  unusual  opportuni¬ 
ties  for  this  sort  of  service  during  the  year.  The 
appeals  have  been  many  and  urgent,  and  we  have 
responded  to  them  as  liberally  as  we  could.  Our 
generosity  has  been  appreciated  and  the  labor  of  love 
has  not  been  in  vain. 

“It  has  been  well  said  that  ‘he  who  takes  God  for 
his  partner  must  make  his  programme  large.  ’  Surely 
this  is  pre-eminently  true  of  our  work  and  God’s 
relation  to  it.  It  will  be  our  purpose,  therefore,  under 
his  guidance,  to  carry  out  this  larger  programme 
during  the  coming  year.  To  do  so  successfully  we 
need  ‘the  vision  and  spirit  and  method  of  Jesus,  our 
Master.’  ’’ 


Western  Agency 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  A.  F.  Ragatz,  D.D. 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  Building,  Denver,  Colo. 

Established  1907.  Field :  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Idaho,  Wyoming,  Mon¬ 
tana,  Utah,  Colorado,  Missouri,  and  Kansas.  Circulation  in  1918, 
34,218  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since  1907,  512,096  vol¬ 
umes. 

The  year  1918  was  an  unusually  hard  one  in  this 
Agency.  To  cover  the  nine  vast  states  which  com¬ 
prise  Dr.  Ragatz’  field  a  large  force  of  workers  is 
needed;  but,  for  want  of  funds,  the  already  depleted 
staff  had  to  be  further  decreased.  In  consequence,  the 
circulation  fell  from  45,864  in  1917,  to  34,218  in  1918. 
Yet  if  even  a  small  per  cent  of  the  Army  and  Navy 
Scriptures  distributed  in  the  territory  of  the  Agency 
had  passed  through  Dr.  Ragatz’  office,  the  figures  of 
circulation  would  have  reached  the  high-water  mark. 
For,  as  Dr.  Ragatz  explains : 

“Though  we  had  within  our  territory  many  of  the 
large  military  camps  and  cantonments,  practically 
no  Scripture  distribution  among  the  soldiers  was  done 
by  our  workers.  In  every  instance,  however,  we 
made  sure  that  this  service  was  being  carefully  carried 
on  by  those  appointed  to  the  task.  In  several  in¬ 
stances  Scriptures  were  not  available,  and  we  were 
able,  indirectly,  to  assist  in  getting  this  work  under 
way. 

“Our  distribution  for  the  year  would  have  ex¬ 
ceeded  all  previous  records  if  only  a  small  per  cent  of 
the  Scriptures  used  in  this  territory  had  been  furnished 
through  our  office;  but,  this  not  having  been  thought 
advisable,  we  contented  ourselves  in  helping  to  raise 
funds  and  doing  many  of  the  practical  things  so 
essential  to  a  successful  fruition  of  the  larger  pro¬ 
gramme  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  ” 

God’s  Word  the  Dynamic  Force  in  the  World  War 

Dr.  Ragatz  further  writes : 

“When  I  think  of  the  American  Bible  Society 


WESTERN  AGENCY 


48 

through  the  grace  of  God  placing  approximately 
7,000,000  copies  of  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  hands  of 
fighting  men,  my  soul  is  filled  with  emotions  akin  to 
those  Philip  must  have  had  when  the  eunuch  over¬ 
took  him,  asking  him  to  explain  the  words  of  the 
prophet,  and  finally  exclaimed,  ‘I  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God !  ’ 

“It  is  beyond  the  finite  mind  to  compute  the  good 
these  7,000,000  copies  of  Scriptures  did  for  the  men 
of  our  Army  and  Navy  and  for  the  fighting  men  of 
other  nations.  Nor  will  it  ever  be  known  upon  earth 
to  what  an  extent  the  final  triumph  of  arms  was  due 
to  the  inspiration  given  by  the  Word  to  those  who 
laid  down  their  lives  to  safeguard  the  foundations  of 
human  liberty. 

“On  the  other  hand,  even  a  dull  mind  can  compre¬ 
hend  that  there  would  be  no  army  of  occupation 
along  the  Rhine  if  the  morale  of  the  Allied  Army  had 
been  broken.  But  what  kept  it  from  breaking? 
The  Red  Cross,  the  Salvation  Army,  the  Army 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  etc.?  Yes!  But  back  of,  and  under¬ 
neath,  and  through  all  these  and  every  other  good 
influence,  pulsated  that  dynamic  force— God’s  Word — 
ever  urging  men  onward  and  upward.’’ 

A  Non-relitfious  Man’s  Estimate  of  the  Bible 

On  the  train,  one  day.  Dr.  Ragatz  had  a  most  in¬ 
teresting  experience,  which  he  thus  describes: 

“Quite  frequently  enthusiastic  supporters  for  our 
work  were  found  among  the  non-religious  class.  One 
case  in  point  occurred  while  the  Secretary  was  riding 
on  the  train.  Several  men  were  telling  what  they 
were  doing  to  help  win  the  war.  One  man  in  par¬ 
ticular  was  very  profane  in  his  boastful  recital  of 
sacrifices  Americans  were  called  upon  to  make.  He 
asked  what  contribution  I  was  making.  I  told 
him  about  my  work  and  how  we  were  trying  to  fur¬ 
nish  a  Testament  for  every  soldier  and  sailor.  I 


WESTERN  AGENCY 


49 


think  everyone  present  expected  another  outburst 
of  profanity,  but  instead  he  took  my  hand,  looked 
squarely  into  my  eyes,  and  in  substance  said:  ‘From 
the  language  you  heard  me  use  you  must  think  me  a 
pretty  bad  man.  But  I  want  to  tell  you  that  I  am 
not  as  bad  in  my  heart  as  my  language  would  in¬ 
dicate.  The  fact  is,  I  know  I  am  wrong.  What  the 
Book  says  is  right!’  Tears  came  to  his  eyes  and 
his  grip  on  my  hand  tightened,  and  then  he  added: 

‘  I  am  getting  off  at  this  station,  for  I  have  a  boy  here 
in  camp ;  and  I  want  to  tell  you  that  of  all  the  things 
we  got  for  him  there  was  nothing  that  has  been  such 
a  comfort  to  all  of  us  as  one  of  those  little  Testa¬ 
ments.  I  tell  you,  the  job  you’ve  got  is  the  greatest 
job  in  the  country,  for  without  that  Book  the  world 
will  never  have  peace.’  ” 

The  Colporteurs  and  their  Untiring  Devotion 

Dr.  Ragatz’  report  teems  with  interesting  incidents 
in  the  year’s  work  of  the  colporteurs,  and  a  perusal 
of  the  full  record  in  the  Annual  Report  will  amply 
repay  all  who  desire  to  learn  in  detail  the  importance 
of  the  great  labor  of  the  American  Bible  Society. 
Concerning  the  workers  and  their  work.  Dr.  Ragatz 
says: 

“I  wish  to  bear  testimony  to  the  untiring  devotion 
shown  to  the  work  by  all  our  representatives.  Not  a 
one  was  there  that  did  not  suffer.  There  was  sorrow 
and  sickness  and  insufficient  pay,  but  the  task  was 
never  laid  down.  Faithful  sowers  of  God’s  Word,  often 
having  hearts  heavy  with  their  own  cares,  they  were 
still  ready  to  help  carry  somebody  else’s  load.  Never 
a  monthly  report  that  did  not  breathe  optimism. 
Disappointment?  Yes!  Difficulties?  Ever  a  plenty! 
But  never  a  word  about  discouragement,  or  complaint. 
Surely  God  will  remember  these  faithful  servants  and 
recompense  them  for  the  service  rendered  in  ^ his 

name. 

4 


WESTERN  AGENCY 


50 

“In  many  respects  this  has  been  an  unusually  hard 
year.  Yet,  withal,  it  has  been  one  rich  in  service, 
as  we  know  that  when  the  sower  has  scattered  the  seed 
the  harvest  must  come  from  God. '  Surely  much  seed 
has  fallen  on  barren  soil;  but,  true  beyond  all  doubt, 
a  large  proportion  fell  upon  good  ground,  and  some 
will  bear  ten,  some  thirty,  and  some  even  a  hundred¬ 
fold.” 


The  Utah  Gospel  Mission  to  Mormons 

In  Utah  and  contiguous  Mormon  territory  we 
worked  through  co-operation  with  the  Utah  Gospel 
Mission.  The  Rev.  J.  D.  Nutting,  the  superin¬ 
tendent,  maintains  from  four  to  nine  men  in  the  field. 
These  men  travel  in  covered  wagons  and  go  from 
town  to  town,  make  a  systematic  religious  visitation 
of  every  home,  distribute  especially  prepared  litera¬ 
ture,  and  as  far  as  possible  leave  no  Bibleless  home 
unsupplied  with  the  Word  of  God. 

Their  colporteurs  made  14,321  calls,  and  visited 
157  towns  and  villages.  Of  this  number  only  about 
28  had  local  Christian  work.  They  distributed 
1,572,873  pages  of  specially  prepared  literature;  193 
religious  meetings  were  held,  with  an  aggregate  at¬ 
tendance  of  13,630;  they  distributed  4,401  copies  of 
Scripture  (mostly  Bibles),  and  of  this  large  number 
only  154  copies  needed  to  be  given  away  on  account 
of  poverty. 

“My  Ma” — in  Two  Homes! 

One  worker  writes: 

“Let  me  give  you  an  illustration  or  two  of  the 
people  whom  we  have  served.  They  have  been 
principally  Mormons,  who  as  a  rule  like  to  have  the 
Bible  in  their  homes.  One  day  we  were  walking 
along  the  road  when  a  boy  of  twelve  overtook  us. 
We  at  once  proceeded  to  get  acquainted  with  him. 
‘What  is  your  name,  my  boy ?  ’  ‘  My  name  is  W.  T.  ’ 


WESTERN  AGENCY 


51 

‘  How  old  are  you? ’  ‘  Twelve  years.  ’  ‘  Do  you  go  to 

school  ?  ’  ‘  Yes.  ’  ‘  Have  you  a  Bible  of  your  own  ?  I 

am  a  Bible-man  and  can  sell  you  one  very  cheap.  ’ 
‘I  cannot  buy  one,  but  if  you  call  at  the  house,  my 
ma  may  get  one.’  ‘Where  do  you  live?’  ‘Over 
there  in  that  house’ — pointing  to  the  house.  ‘But 
we  have  another  house  over  there,  ’  the  boy  added. 
‘Who  lives  in  that  house?’  ‘My  ma,  ’  was  the 
answer.  ‘And  who  lives  in  the  other  house?’  ‘My 
ma, ’  was  the  reply  again.  ‘You  are  the  most  for¬ 
tunate  boy;  for  some  boys  have  not  even  one,  and  you 
have  two  mothers.’  ‘Oh,  that  there  is  not  my  ma, 
she  is  my  aunt.  My  pa  he  married  two  women.  ’ 
“We  visited  both  of  these  homes.  The  contrast 
could  hardly  be  imagined.  Home  No.  2,  where  the 
second  wife  lived,  was  attractive.  Around  the  house 
were  trees,  grass,  a  flowing  well,  and  other  things; 
and  the  house  was  well  furnished  inside.  They  had 
the  Bible  and  did  not  care  to  buy.  Home  No.  1, 
where  the  first  wife  lived,  was  on  the  hillside.  It 
consisted  of  two  rooms — with  no  carpet  on  the  floor, 
no  pictures  on  the  walls,  no  trees  or  grass  around  the 
house.  The  furniture  consisted  of  a  stove,  a  table,  a 
sewing  machine,  a  bed,  and  a  few  chairs.  It  was  about 
dinner  time  and  we  at  once  inquired  whether  they  had 
the  Bible  in  the  home.  ‘No,’  was  the  reply.  ‘I 
can  sell  one  for  twenty -five  cents  and  you  should  have 
one.  No  home  should  be  without  the  Bible.’  ‘I 
know,  but  we  cannot  buy  one.  ’  The  daughter,  a 
fifteen-year-old  girl,  said,  ‘Oh,  mother,  let  us  buy 
one.’  ‘Child,  we  cannot  buy  one;  all  we  have  in 
the  house  is  a  quarter.’  Finally  we  said,  ‘Here  is  a 
Testament  that  we  sell  for  twenty-five  cents;  you 
can  have  it  for  ten  cents.  ’  The  lady  handed  us  the 
quarter,  we  made  the  change,  and  went  our  way. 
Both  mother  and  daughter  rejoiced  at  having  the 
Word  of  God  in  their  home  and  we  rejoiced  at  the 
opportunity  of  supplying  them. 


52  WESTERN  AGENCY 

A  Bible  Reader  vs.  Bible  Profaners 

“I  was  one  day  shown  a  Bible  printed  in  1810.  It 
had  gone  through  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  I  have 
never  handled  a  Bible  as  carefully  as  I  did  that  one. 
It  seemed  much  more  sacred  to  me  after  hearing  its 
blessed  history.  The  father  of  the  home  was  in  very 
poor  health  and  not  able  to  go  out;  but  there  was  no 
need  of  asking  if  he  were  a  Christian,  the  Good  Old 
Book  had  stamped  itself  on  his  very  countenance. 
He  told  me  that  he  had  tried  for  seventy  years  to  live 
according  to  the  teaching  of  that  Book.  To  me  he 
seemed  like  a  sheaf  of  ripened  grain,  only  waiting  to 
be  taken  home  by  the  Reaper. 

“A  few  days  before  I  had  seen  the  United  States 
marshal  transfer  some  I.  W.  W.’s  from  one  jail  to 
another,  and  as  I  compared  this  old  man  with  some 
of  those  men,  who  had  attempted  to  destroy  the  safe¬ 
guards  of  civilization  and  had  been  found  guilty  of 
grave  wrongdoing,  I  could  not  help  thinking  at  what 
a  price  someone  had  failed  long  ago  in  placing  about 
these  men  the  strong  appeal  of  Christ’s  gospel  and 
the  call  to  a  clean  and  righteous  life. 

A  Proditfal  Daughter  and  her  Father’s  Love 

“A  fine  young  girl  who  had  left  her  country  home 
in  Illinois,  several  years  ago,  came  to  Denver.  No 
one  knew  where  she  was.  Her  old  father  hunted  for 
her  all  over  the  United  States.  Recently  he  came 
to  Denver  and  found  her,  just  after  she  had  attempted 
suicide.  The  Lord  led  me  to  talk  to  her  and  she  was 
saved.  The  following  day  I  went  to  see  her  and  her 
father,  and  in  all  my  life  I  have  never  known  a  hiunan 
father  to  illustrate  the  wonderful  love  of  our  heavenly 
Father  as  he  did,  for  his  child. 

“The  joy  of  finding  her  made  him  willing  to  for¬ 
give  and  forget.  I  gave  the  girl  a  large-print 
Testament,  and  she  promised  by  God’s  help  to  live 
a  better  life.  The  father’s  heart  was  too  full  for 


WESTERN  AGENCY  53 

words.  He  took  his  child  back  home  with  him  that 
same  night. 

Jjermon.s  and  Scriptures  in  Saloons 

“  J I  is  surprising  how  many  saloon  keepers  ask  for  a 
copy  of  the  Bible  for  their  own  use.  One  saloon 
keeper,  when  I  asked  if  he  wished  to  buy  a  Bible,  re¬ 
fused  me  roughly,  saying — ‘No,  I  have  not  been  in  a 
church  for  eighteen  years.  ’  But  I  could  not  be  turned 
away  thus.  I  explained  to  him  that  the  Bible  was 
God’s  message;  that  it  was  not  a  church-made  book, 
but  the  book  that  had  made  the  church.  ‘It  is  a 
higher  law  than  the  church.  You  may  read  it  in 
your  home,  and  have  a  church  service  by  yourself, 
alone  with  your  God.’  The  saloon  keeper  thought 
the  matter  over,  finally  saying — ‘You  are  right,  I  will 
buy  one  of  your  Bibles.  ’ 

“An  American  saloon  keeper  came  from  behind  his 
bar  when  he  heard  that  I  was  selling  Bibles,  and  asked 
to  see  them.  During  the  time  he  was  making  his 
selection  I  spoke  to  him,  and  to  some  fifteen  men  who 
had  gathered  around,  concerning  the  Word  of  God. 
At  least  ten  of  these  men  said  they  were  for  the  Bible ; 
some  said  they  would  pruchase  later;  others  said  they 
already  had  copies.  One  man  asked  me  why  I  sold 
the  Bible  in  saloons.  I  told  him  that  the  Bible  be¬ 
longed  everywhere — it  was  God’s  gift  to  man,  and 
that  wherever  men  gathered  there  the  Bible  must  go. 
He  said,  ‘All  right’ — and  purchased  the  highest- 
priced  copy  of  the  Word  I  could  offer  him. 

“In  another  saloon  I  asked  the  bartender  if  he 
wished  to  purchase  and  he  said,  ‘I  have  a  Bible.’ 
A  customer  standing  near  asked  me  some  questions, 
which  I  answered  discreetly.  Then  I  asked  the  saloon 
keeper  if  I  might  explain  my  answers  fiuther,  and  he 
said — ‘  Certainly,  go  ahead.  ’  Thus  I  had  a  religious 
meeting  in  the  saloon.  The  customer,  who  seemed 
interested,  purchased  a  copy  of  the  vScriptures  and  then 


WESTERN  AGENCY 


54 

took  up  the  work  of  instructing  the  others  in  the  room 
as  to  tke  worth  and  value  of  the  Bible.  They  be¬ 
came  interested  and  several  bought  Testaments. 

A  Means  to  an  End 

“1  have  been  aide  to  assist  a  good  many  Serbian 
and  Croatian  residents  of  this  community  to  learn 
to  read  and  write — first  their  native  language  in  the 
Latin  type,  and  then  the  American  language;  thus 
opening  the  Scriptures  to  their  personal  use.  For 
instance,  in  my  visits  to  one  community  I  came  to 
the  home  of  a  Croatian  about  forty  years  of  age  who 
said,  in  reply  to  my  invitation  to  buy  a  Bible,  ‘It 
is  no  use;  I  can  neither  read  nor  write.’  ‘But,’  I 
said,  ‘  you  can  learn.  ’  The  man  and  his  wife  laughed 
incredulously;  the  woman  remembered  that  it  had 
taken  her  some  time  to  acquire  this  accomplishment, 
but  the  man  had  never  tried.  ‘Can  you  write  your 
name?’  I  asked.  ‘No,  no!’  he  answered.  ‘But 
you  can  learn  to  write  it  in  five  minutes,  ’  I  persisted. 
Again  the  man  and  his  wife  laughed  at  the  idea.  In 
just  six  minutes,  to  his  great  astonishment  and  delight, 
he  had  learned  how  to  write  his  name  with  ease.  So 
I  had  this  man  write  his  name  till  he  had  thoroughly 
mastered  the  art.  It  was  but  a  step  to  persuade  this 
brother  to  buy  the  Bible  in  Croatian  for  his  own  use, 
and  the  New  Testament  in  English  for  the  use  of  his 
children,  who  are  in  the  public  schools,  and  of  course 
care  more  for  the  American  language  than  they  do 
for  their  father’s  native  tongue. 

“A  year  later  when  I  saw  him  I  asked,  ‘How  do 
you  value  your  present  ability  to  read  and  write?’ 
He  replied  that  he  would  not  exchange  this  accom¬ 
plishment  for  the  whole  city  of  East  vSt.  Louis.” 


Pacific  Agency 

Agency  Secretary:  Rkv.  A.  Wesley  Mell 

122  McAllister  Street,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

EstablishpH  1907,  Fipld  :  California,  Nevada,  Washington,  and  Oregon, 
(^irnilatioti!  in  I91S,  71,912  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since 
1907,  91  1,725  volumes. 

In  this  Agency,  whicli  stretches  along  the  Pacific 
Coast,  the  year  1918  was  full  of  varied  activities. 
The  best  thought  and  energy  of  two  experienced 
Secretaries,  each  for  six  months,  was  given  to  the 
work;  for  after  the  first  six  months  of  the  year  the 
regular  Secretary,  the  Rev.  A.  Wesley  Mell,  was 
loaned  to  labor  for  the  Methodist  Centenary,  as  a 
Conference  team  leader;  and  during  his  absence,  in 
the  words  of  Mr.  Mell:  “The  Rev.  J.  L.  McLaughlin, 
the  versatile  and  aggressive  Secretary  of  the  Philip¬ 
pine  Islands,  took  charge  of  the  work.” 

The  Year’s  Circulation 

Due  to  the  decreased  staff  of  workers  and  the  great 
attention  given  to  the  campaign  for  the  Army  and 
Navy  Scripture  Fund,  the  circulation  fell  from 
109,879  volumes  in  1917  to  74,342  in  1918.  The 
munber  of  distributers  of  the  Scriptures  was  79,  as 
against  99  in  1917.  The  days  of  service  totaled  2,984; 
towns  visited,  781;  miles  traveled,  29,500.  And 
the  Word  of  Life  was  scattered  in  61  languages. 
How  varied  and  interesting  were  the  efforts  of  these 
devoted  workers,  the  brief  notices  of  their  activities 
will  indicate. 

Work  among  Japanese  and  Others 

The  Rev.  and  Mrs.  U.  G.  Murphy  have  again 
given  a  year  of  great  service  to  the  Bible  cause  in 
the  Northwest.  Their  sales  during  the  past  year 
have  been:  1,019  Bibles,  2,531  Testaments,  and  4,995 
portions,  at  a  valuation  of  $1,972.88.  They  have 
distributed  Scriptures  in  the  following  languages : 


56 


PACIFIC  AGENCY 


A  SPANISH  SUNDAY  SCHOOL,  PACIFIC  AGENCY 


English,  Hebrew,  Swedish,  Norwegian,  Japanese, 
Latin,  Syriac,  Croatian,  French,  Finnish,  Polish, 
Italian,  Greek,  Servian,  Chinese,  Lettish,  Danish, 
Welsh,  Spanish,  Dutch,  and  Roumanian. 

The  Rev.  Murphy’s  home  has  been  the  headquarters 
of  our  colportage  work  in  Seattle  and  the  state  of 
Washington.  Having  spent  thirteen  years  in  Japan, 
and  both  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Murphy  being  able  to 
speak  the  Japanese  language,  their  services  among 
the  Japanese  have  been  exceptionally  noteworthy. 

Among  the  German-speaking  People 

For  a  number  of  years  the  Rev.  George  Bohlander, 
one  of  God’s  saints,  has  done  a  quiet  but  very  effective 
colportage  work,  especially  among  the  German¬ 
speaking  people  in  southern  California.  The  Rev. 
Bohlander’s  sales  were  never  large,  but  his  work  was 
one  which  planted  the  Word  of  God  deep  in  the  heart 
and  life  of  those  among  whom  he  labored.  He  sold 
quite  a  number  of  Scriptures  in  the  Arabic  language, 
and  also  associated  in  service  with  a  young  Assyrian. 


PACIFIC  AGENCY 


57 

louring  this  last  year  the  Rev.  Rohlander  passed  to 
his  reward.  We  inoum  his  death  as  that  of  a  brother 
beloved,  arid  otie  of  thetnie,  faithful  stewards  of  God. 


Volunteer  Workers 

Miss  Grace  Nichols,  of  San  Francisco,  has  been 
actively  engaged  for  another  year  in  a  very  widespread 
distribution  of  the  Word  of  God.  She  is  a  self- 
supporting  missionary,  purchasing  the  Scriptures  at 
her  own  expense,  and  by  personal  distribution  gives 
out  the  Word  with  prayer  and  earnest  evangelistic 
effort. 

Miss  Nichols’  distribution  has  been  2,011  Bibles, 
Testaments,  and  portions.  These  were  given  and 
sent  with  a  personal,  loving  word  to  hundreds  and 
hundreds  of  foreign-speaking  men  and  women.  The 
Word  sown  has  gone  to  distant  lands  and  to  ships 
on  the  Seven  Seas. 

Among  the  Sailors 

Oscar  Zimmerman,  connected  with  the  Bible  In¬ 
stitute,  but  an  active  correspondent  in  Bible  dis¬ 
tribution,  has  distributed  1,755  Testaments  and  por¬ 
tions  among  the  sailors,  speaking  many  languages,  on 
all  seas.  He  has  had  his  own  motor  boat,  by  which  he 
has  visited  the  ships  about  the  bay.  The  Bible  dis¬ 
tribution  among  sailors  in  the  other  main  ports  of  the 
coast  has  been  carried  on  in  connection  with  the 
Sailors’  Institutes  and  the  home  missionary  workers 
among  the  seamen. 

Jewish  Colporteurs 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greenbaum,  who  have  been  asso¬ 
ciated  with  the  American  Bible  Society  for  the  past 
six  years,  and  who  have  done  splendid  'work,  have 
given  up  their  active  colportage  service.  Frequent 
illness  in  Mr.  Greenbaum’s  family  has  made  it  seem 
best  for  them  to  continue  their  residence  in  southern 
California. 


58 


PACIFIC  AGENCY 


During  the  first  part  of  the  year  Mr.  Greenbaum 
sold  and  distributed  in  English,  Finnish,  French, 
Italian,  Portuguese,  Yiddish,  Spanish,  and  American 
Braille  50 1  Bibles,  2,221  Testaments,  and  1,371 
portions. 

Among  the  Armenians 

Although  active  colportage  work  has  been  done  in 
previous  years  throughout  the  entire  Armenian  com¬ 
munity,  yet  the  demand  for  Scriptures  this  year  has 
been  insistent. 

The  Rev.  A.  Vartanian,  of  Fresno,  has  been  faithful 
in  his  effort  to  supply  these  people  with  Scriptures. 
A  shortage  in  the  stock  alone  has  been  responsible 
for  the  diminished  sale  in  the  Armenian  language. 
The  Rev.  Vartanian  has  sold  not  only  Armenian,  but 
quite  a  number  of  English  Scriptures.  Thus  we  find 
an  increasing  demand  among  all  foreign-speaking 
people  for  the  English  Scriptures. 

Acting  Secretary  J.  L.  McLaughlin 

In  reporting  concerning  his  work  in  this  Agency 
during  the  past  six  months  of  the  year,  Mr.  McLaugh¬ 
lin  writes:  “Returning  from  the  Philippines  for  my 
quinquennial  furlough,  I  was  instructed  to  dispose  of 
other  plans  which  I  had  formulated  for  the  use  of 
my  time  and  efforts  in  connection  with  the  war  work, 
and  remain  on  the  Coast  to  look  after  the  work  of  t,he 
Pacific  Agency.  After  a  cursory  view  of  the  field  I 
decided  that  about  all  I  could  hope  to  accomplish 
in  the  short  time  I  would  devote  to  it  would  be  in 
the  line  of  plans  for  increasing  revenues.  So  I  visited 
and  addressed  three  Presbyterian  Synods,  two  Bap¬ 
tist  Conventions,  one  Christian  (Disciple)  Conven¬ 
tion,  one  ‘Brethren’  Convention,  one  Free  Methodist 
Conference,  two  Methodist,  South,  Conferences,  four 
Methodist  Episcopal  Conferences,  one  Congregation- 
alist  Convention,  and  four  Adventist  camp  meetings. 

“In  each  and  all  of  these  meetings  our  Society 


PACIFIC  AGENCY 


^59 

received  cordial  indorsement  and  pledges  of  support, 
and  in  some  of  them  substantial  contributions  at 
the  time.  In  trying  to  meet,  as  many  of  the  calls 
as  possible  I  have  traveled  altogetlier,  since  arriving  in 
the  States  six  months  ago,  upward  of  27,000  miles.” 

Army  and  Navy  Campaign 

The  Army  and  Navy  campaign  for  funds  to  pro¬ 
vide  Scriptures  for  our  Army  forces  occupied  the 
major  portion  of  the  thought  and  effort  of  Mr.  Mell 
and  his  assistants  during  the  first  half  of  the  year. 
In  this  and  the  Southwestern  Agencies  the  war  fund 
campaigns  were  especially  successful.  Space  will 
admit  of  only  a  brief  statement  of  the  methods  used 
and  the  results  obtained. 

Mr.  Mell  writes: 

“Earl  A.  Rowell  continued  with  us  in  campaign 
work.  After  having  labored  in  California  we  made 
special  effort  in  Oregon  and  Washington,  and  Mr. 
Rowell  took  up  field  work  in  those  states. 

Methods 

‘  ‘  Specially  prepared  articles  were  sent  out  to  five 
hundred  newspapers  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  other 
special  articles  were  dispatched  to  all  the  church  papers 
in  the  Agency,  telling  of  the  campaign,  its  necessity, 
and  the  opportunity  before  the  church  and  nation. 

“Letters  were  sent  to  two  thousand  ministers  and 
the  co-operation  of  the  Sunday  schools  and  the  Young 
People’s  organizations  was  sought.  Thousands  of 
leaflets  were  inclosed  in  letters  sent  out  from  our 
Agency  headquarters.  Synods,  Conferences,  and 
special  church  gatherings  were  reached  by  personal 
appeal  and  with  general  literature. 

r  • 

Co-operation 

“Pilde  posters  were  printed  and  circulated  among 
the  churches.  Tags,  representing  in  value  from 


PACIFIC  AGENCY 


60 

twenty-five  cents  to  one  hundred  dollars,  were 'pre¬ 
pared,  and  tag  days  were  held  in  Sunday  schools  and 
on  the  streets  in  a  number  of  the  cities  and  towns. 

“On  tag  days,  to  stimulate  intere-vSt  among  the 
boys  and  girls,  a  kliaki-bound  twenty-five  cent  Testa¬ 
ment  was  given  to  the  boy  or  girl  collecting  ten  dollars 
or  more,  and  a  pigskin  Testament  to  the  one  collecting 
fifty  dollars  or  more;  this  proved  a  very  popular 
incentive.  •  The  young  people  of  the  churches  and 
Sunday  schools  gave  splendid  co-operation. 

“Banners  were  used  on  street  comers  giving  pub¬ 
licity  to  the  Soldiers’  Bible  Fund,  and  street  speakers 
took  offerings;  a  number  of  specially  prepared  booths 
at  the  entrances  to  department  stores  and  banks  also 
gave  aid.  The  newspapers  gave  generous  space  and 
co-operated  in  a  fine  way.  Illustrated  envelopes  and 
receipt  books  were  also  successfully  used. 

Worth  While 

“We  felt  that  these  campaigns  were  well  worth 
while.  The  publicity  given  to  the  general  work  of 
the  Society,  the  co-operation  of  the  churches,  and 
especially  that  of  the  young  people  and  children,  the 
interest  and  help  of  the  social,  business,  and  financial 
circles  in  these  cities  and  country  communities,  all 
contributed  not  only  to  the  success  of  this  particu¬ 
lar  campaign,  but  helped  in  laying  deeper  the  foun¬ 
dations  of  the  Society. 

“The  amount  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Fund  for¬ 
warded  to  New  York  was  twenty-one  thousand  eight 
himdred  and  thirty-two  dollars  and  eighty-one  cents 
($21,832.81).  This,  however,  is  not  the  total  amount 
raised,  as  it  does  not  include  the  gifts  of  the  year 
before  nor  what  has  come  in  after  the  close  of  the 
year.” 

The  Methodist  Centenary 

Concerning  his  efforts  in  connection  with  the 
Methodist  Centenary,  Mr.  Mell  writes: 


61 


PACIFIC  AGENCY 
Secretarial  Travels 

“After  traveling  in  the  Coast  states  the  forepart  of 
the  year  in  the  general  service  of  the  Agency,  we  were 
loaned  by  the  American  Bible  Society  for  the  Metho¬ 
dist  Centenary  work.  Inasmuch  as  the  American 
Bible  Society  is  in  the  financial  Centenary  budget  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  it  was  only  right 
that  our  Society  should  give  special  aid  to  the  Cen¬ 
tenary  effort.  In  June  we  left  for  the  Centenary 
meeting  at  Columbus,  O.,  and  from  there  to  New 
York,  where  we  spent  several  months  in  the  Office 
headquarters  working  as  an  editor  in  the  stereopticon 
slide  department. 

Crowds 

“The  district  superintendents  and  pastors  gave  us 
loyal  and  enthusiastic  support.  The  Centenary 
meetings  were  attended  by  large  crowds  and  the  at¬ 
tendance  at  the  evening  services  always  taxed  the 
church  and  public  halls  to  capacity.  In  several 
places  the  pictures  and  addresses  were  given  out¬ 
doors;  as  many  as  three  thousand  people  attended 
these  public-square  meetings.  ” 

Victory  through  the  Wonderful  Words  of  Life 

During  his  travels  in  Iowa,  Secretary  Mell  had 
the  privilege  of  spending  a  few  days  with  his  aged 
father  and  was  by  his  side  when  he  was  called  to  his 
reward  in  heaven.  Mr.  Mell’s  beautiful  description 
of  the  home-going  will  be  appreciated  by  all  our 
readers.  He  says: 

“Though  I  sat  near  he  did  not  realize  it.  He 
consciously  walked  in  the  Valley  of  Death  alone, 
save  for  the  presence  of  Christ. 

“We  never  realized  as  we  did  that  night  the 
strengthening  power  of  the  Word  of  God  for  man  in 
his  battle  with  the  last  enemy.  It  was  a  conflict 
across  ‘No-man’s-land.  ’  As  this  aged  father  went 
into  his  last  struggle  it  was  with  the  strength  of 


SOUTHWESTERN  AGENCY 


62 

immortal  youth,  and  the  secret  of  that  power  was 
seen  in  these  words,  which  he  repeated  again  and 
again:  ‘I  hear  the  Lord  say,  “I  am  with  thee,  be  not 
afraid ” ;  “  I  will  fear  no  evil ” ;  “The Lord  is  my  refuge 
and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  time  of  trouble”; 
“Who  shall  stand?”;  “I  am  ready  for  this  day”; 
“Thou,  oh  Christ,  art  all  I  want;  more  than  life  in 
thee  I  find” ;  “What  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
Christ?  Nay,dn  all  these  things  we  are  more  than 
conquerors  through  him  that  loved  us”;  “I  am  pre¬ 
pared  to  go”;  “He  waves!”;  “The  sun  shines!  The 
sunshines!” 

“Thus  he  entered  the  dark  Valley,  but  for  him  it 
was  not  night.  It  was  the  morning  of  an  eternal 
day,  wherein  the  unclouded  sun  shines.  Our  dear 
father,  eighty-three,  years  of  age,  found  the  wonderful 
words  of  life  giving  unfaltering  faith,  undaunted 
courage,  and  a  song  in  the  night,  as  he  met  and  con¬ 
quered  death. 

“We  left  that  hallowed  room  with  a  new  apprecia¬ 
tion  of  the  promises  of  God.  As  we  contrasted  that 
death  with  the  experiences  of  those  who  have  never 
heard  these  words  of  life,  we  felt  a  new  determination 
to  spread  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Saviour  to  earth’s 
remotest  bounds.” 

Southwestern  Agency 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  J.  J.  Morgan 
1304  Commerce  Street,  Dallas,  Tex. 

Established  1907,  Field  :  Texas,  Oklahoma,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas.  Cir¬ 
culation  in  1918,  83,972  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since 
1907,  912,289  volumes. 

This  Agency,  with  its  four  important  states  and 
extensive  territory,  was  a  hive  of  busy  activities 
during  the  year  under  review.  In  addition  to  the 
regular  work  of  Scripture  distribution  special  at¬ 
tention  was  given  to  the  campaign  for  raising  funds 
to  supply  our  soldiers  with  the  Word  of  God,  Secre- 


SOUTHWESTERN  AGENCY 


63 


tary  Morgan  records  several  touching  instances  of 
self-denial  in  order  to  help  along  in  this  important 
task.  A  unique  feature  of  the  campaign  in  this 
Agency  was  the  assistance  of  ten  or  more  Army 
chaplains  in  making  addresses  for  the  War  Scripture 
Fund.  The  following  quotations  from  Mr.  Morgan’s 
full  report  give  a  glimpse  of  this  and  other  methods 
employed .  W  e  read : 

Chaplains  Campaigning  for  the  Testament  Fund 

“By  far  the  greatest  success  attained  in  our  cam¬ 
paign  for  funds  was  through  the  efforts  of  a  few 
picked  Army  chaplains.  We  are  indebted  to  our 
field  agent  in  Arkansas  for  carrying  this  plan  to  its 
greatest  success;  however,  much  was  done  also  in 
Texas  and  Oklahoma  in  this  way. 

“Patriotic  services  on  Sunday  in  which  all  denomi¬ 
nations  united  were  held  in  towns  and  communities. 
At  these  the  chaplains  were  engaged  to  speak  in 
l:>ehalf  of  the  Army  Testament  Fund  of  the  American 
Bible  Society.  They  did  not  hesitate  to  emphasize 
the  important  work  of  the  Society  and  call  upon  the 
people  to  give  liberally,  that  their  men  and  all  the 
Anny  might  be  supplied  with  the  khaki  Testament. 

Mrs.  Esther  A.  Bonham 

“Special  mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  excel¬ 
lent  services  rendered  our  Army  and  Navy  campaign 
by  Mrs.  Esther  H.  Bonham,  of  Little  Rock.  This 
woman  of  God  took  the  cause  on  her  heart,  prayed 
about  it,  wrote  letters  to  her  friends,  and  made  per¬ 
sonal  appeals  in  meetings  and  elsewhere,  furnishing 
thereby  hundreds  of  Testaments  for  soldiers.  May 
the  Lord  reward  her  liberally ! 

Shelling  Peas  to  Give  Khaki  Testaments 

“  Responses  to  appeals  in  the  papers  were  interest¬ 
ing.  One  little  child  sent  us  a  quarter,  in  a  letter 


SOUTHWESTERN  AGENCY 


64 

written  with  his  own  hand,  saying  that  he  made 
the  twenty-five  cents  shelling  peas  for  his  mother. 
‘  A  little  child  shall  lead  them.  ’ 

Doing  Without  New  Shoes 

“A  stenographer  sent  in  $10  and  said:  ‘I  have  de¬ 
cided  that  soldiers  need  Testaments  worse  than  I 
need  new  shoes  (though  I  need  them  badly).  Put 
this  ten  dollars  in  your  Army  Testament  Fund.  I 
will  do  without.  ’ 

A  Happy  Experience 

“Seeing  a  soldier  trying  to  read  an  English  Bible, 
and  noting  the  difficulty  experienced  in  the  effort, 
Mr.  Brown  inquired  as  to  his  nationality,  and  found 
him  to  be  a  Lithuanian.  The  soldier’s  joy  knew  no 
bounds  when  Mr.  Brown  furnished  him  with  a  Bible 
in  liis  native  tongue. 

Missing  Mess  to  Read  the  Bible 

“Stmnbling  off  down  the  street,  the  soldier  (with¬ 
out  lifting  his  eyes  from  the  familiar  pages)  went 
direct  to  his  barracks  and  read  until  a  late  hour,  re¬ 
gardless  of  the  fact  that  he  had  missed  mess  that 
evening.  A  few  days  later  he  returned  to  the  ‘Y’ 
secretary  with  another  Lithuanian  soldier,  whom  he 
had  discovered  in  another  unit.  The  newcomer  was 
also  supplied  with  a  Bible  in  Lithuanian.  Both  men 
confided  to  the  ‘Y’  secretary  that  the  Bibles  were 
the  first  literature  they  had  seen  in  their  own  lan¬ 
guage  since  coming  to  America,  seven  years  ago. 
Mr.  Brown  also  says : 

In  the  Army  Hospitals 

“  ‘But  it  was  in  the  Army  Hospitals  of  the  train¬ 
ing  camps  that  the  Testaments  were  most  appre¬ 
ciated.  Literally  thousands  were  comforted  and 
saved  by  reading  God’s  Word,  given  them  by  th^ 


SOUTHWESTERN  AGENCY  65 

Bible  Society.  Many  breathed  their  last  during  the 
“flu”  epidemic,  with  the  little  khaki  Testament 
under  their  pillow,  or  on  the  table  near  by,  and  went 
to  meet  God  in  peace.’ 

Our  Polyglot  Army — Thirty-eight  in  One 

“Although  it  was  in  overseas  service  that  the  little 
khaki  book  was  most  appreciated  by  the  ‘dough 
boys,’  yet  a  most  valuable  work  was  done  in  the 
home  camps  while  they  were  in  training. 

“The  following  list  was  furnished  Mr.  Colquetteby 
Mr.  Brown,  the  ‘Y’  educational  secretary  at  Camp 
Pike,  Arkansas,  and  the  most  interesting  fact  about 
it  is  that  these  men  were  all  furnished  with  Scriptures 
in  their  own  tongue  by  the  American  Bible  Society : 


Armenian. . . 

2 

French . 

234 

Poles.. ....... 

213 

Assyrian. . . . 

1 

German . 

465 

Portuguese. . . . 

117 

Austrian. . . . 

Greek . 

77 

Roumanian . . . 

7 

Belgian . 

.  .  20 

Hebrew . 

50 

Russian . 

210 

Bohemian. . . 

.  .  234 

Hungarian. . . . 

36 

Scottish . 

4 

Bulgarian. . . 

3 

Indian . 

1 

Slovak . 

118 

Canadian. . . 

1 

Irish . 

8 

Spanish . 

5 

Croatian .... 

4 

Italian . 

235 

Swedish . 

204 

Danish . 

.  .  62 

Lithuanian  . .  . 

31 

Swiss . 

111 

Dutch . 

.  .  15 

Mexican . 

6 

Syrian . 

17 

Filipino . 

1 

Montenegrins . 

2 

Turkish . 

7 

Finnish . 

.  .  21 

Norwegian. .  . . 

209 

Welsh . 

4 

Flemish . 

2 

Persian . 

1 

A  Good  Text-book  for  Foreigners  in  the  Army 

Camps 

“Many  foreign-speaking  soldiers,  and  English- 
speaking  soldiers,  also,  could  not  read;  but  that  was 
not  a  permanent  hindrance,  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  taught 
them,  and,  in  some  cases.  Uncle  Sam  taught  them. 

“F.  K.  Ringsmuth,  our  former  colporteur,  was  taken 
over  by  the  government  for  special  work  among 
foreigners  in  the  training  camps,  and  naturally  he 
adopted  the  Bible  as  a  text-book  when  it  was  neces¬ 
sary  to  instruct  ignorant  soldiers.” 

The  Year’s  Regular  Work 

The  usual  established  work  of  the  Agency  was  not 

a 


SOUTHWESTERN  AGENCY 


66 

neglected  at  the  expense  of  the  war  work,  as  the  fol¬ 
lowing  summary  shows : 


Volumes  of  Scripture  distributed .  83,972 

Volumes  of  Scripture  donated . - .  4,183 

Colporteurs  and  correspondents  employed .  25 

Days  spent  by  them  in  service .  1,420 

Miles  traveled  by  them .  13,927 

Towns  and  villages  visited .  208 


The  Circulation 

In  1917  the  circulation  reached  the  remarkable 
figure  of  221,431  volumes,  due  to  the  exceptional  op¬ 
portunities  for  work  among  the  180,000  American 
soldiers  on  the  Mexican  border  and  to  the  distribution 
of  nearly  40,000  Spanish  Scriptures  to  the  Mexican 
refugees  who  swarmed  across  the  Rio  Grande  because 
of  the  Mexican  revolution.  The  circulation  of  1918 
(83,972)  is  far  below  that  of  the  previous  year; 
but,  considering  the  handicaps,  it  is  no  mean  showing. 
These  83,972  volumes  were  carefully  placed  and  widely 
scattered,  as  the  following  extracts  indicate. 

Scriptures  Distributed  in  Thirty-six  Languatfes 

‘  ‘  The  languages  in  which  Scriptures  were  circulated 
by  our  depository  and  regular  forces  clearly  demon¬ 
strate  the  great  missionary  value  of  our  work,  and 
are  an  indication  of  what  a  lighthouse  of  divine  truth 
the  Bible  House  can  be. 

“When  it  is  realized  that  no  missionary  work  can 
be  carried  on  successfully  without  Scriptures  in  the 
languages  of  the  people  the  missionary  is  trying  to 
reach,  it  is  evident  how  dependent  missionaries  are 
upon  the  Bible  Society.  That  there  should  be  calls 
for  the  Bible  in  thirty-six  languages  here  in  the  South¬ 
west,  and  some  of  them  in  ever-increasing  quantities, 
is  a  great  big  story  in  itself. 

Voluntary  Workers 

“A  voluntary  worker  is  one  who  distributes  Scrip¬ 
tures  simply  and  purely  for  the  good  he  may  do, 


SOUTHWESTERN  AGENCY 


67 

without  hope  of  reward  or  pay  for  his  services.  It  is 
delightful  to  note  that  these  workers  are  not  all  of 
them  well-to-do,  hunting  up  some  sort  of  philan¬ 
thropy  just  to  pass  away  the  time;  but,  rather,  from 
the  laboring  class,  and  especially  those  who  tithe. 
We  give  a  few  examples  by  way  of  illustration: 

A  Street-car  Conductor 

“A  concrete  example  is  a  street-car  conductor  who 
conceived  the  idea  of  putting  the  Gospel  of  St.  John 
in  the  hands  of  every  car  man  in  Dallas.  Every  week 
he  spent  the  tenth  of  his  income  for  this  purpose  and 
continued  in  a  most  systematic  manner  to  carry 
on  his  campaign  until  every  street-railway  employee 
who  would  promise  to  read  the  Gospel  had  been  sup¬ 
plied  with  it. 

A  Railway  Conductor 

“Another  example  is  that  of  a  railway  conductor 
who  travels  out  of  Dallas  on  the  cotton-belt  route. 
He  is  a  great,  big,  jolly,  one  hundred  per  cent  Ameri¬ 
can.  He  buys  our  cheap  eight-cent  Testaments  by 
the  dozen  and  distributes  them  to  passengers  along 
the  way,  to  railway  section  hands,  or  to  any  who  show 
interest  in  reading  the  Scripture.  Mind  you,  he 
does  not  sell  these  books;  he  gives  them  away.  He  is 
a  sower  of  the  seed. 


A  Newsboy 

“And  now  let  me  tell  you  of  a  newsboy.  I  must 
explain  that  this  ‘boy’  is  in  the  neighborhood  of 
sixty  years  of  age.  He  is  a  poor  fellow  who  has 
wasted  himself  in  ‘  riotous  living,  ’  but  who  has  come 
to  his  senses  and  now  desires  to  make  every  day 
count  for  God  and  his  kingdom.  For  months  and 
months  he  has  been  buying  Gospels  in  English  and 
Spanish  to  give  away  to  the  down-and-out,  or  Mexi¬ 
cans  and  negroes — his  only  condition  being  a  promise 
to  care  for  the  book  and  read  it. 


68  SOUTHWESTERN  AGENCY 

The  West  Texas  Drouth 

“This  story  would  be  incomplete  without  recording 
something  of  the  drouth  in  West  Texas.  For  a  space 
of  three  years  there  was  no  rain.  Cattle  died  by 
the  hundreds  and  thousands,  towns  were  deserted, 
and  farmers  left  their  homes  to  seek  a  livelihood 
wherever  it  could  be  found. 

They  Wanted  Bibles 

“  Hungry  and  discouraged,  there  was  a  turning  to 
God  and  his  Word  such  as  had  not  been  known  be¬ 
fore.  Revivals  broke  out  as  a  result  of  searching  the 
Scriptures,  and  scores  and  hundreds  were  led  to  say 
with  Job:  ‘Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in 
him.  ’  And  then  came  the  rain  I 

Grants  of  Scriptures 

“We  have  just  mentioned  the  calls  for  Scripture 
from  the  drouth-stricken  regions  of  Texas.  In  ad¬ 
dition  there  were  unusual  needs  throughout  the 
Agency,  and  since  our  colportage  work  was  so  limited 
we  made  special  effort  to  answer  calls  that  were 
found  to  be  genuine  in  their  need.  The  grants  went 
to  numerous  individuals  and  homes  among  the  poor, 
as  well  as  to  various  charitable  institutions,  jails, 
penitentiaries,  mission  churches,  and  Sunday  schools. 
Our  files  are  filled  with  words  of  appreciation,  all  of 
which  we  treasure  most  highly. 

• 

Looking  Forward 

“We  face  the  year  1919  under  very  different  cir¬ 
cumstances  from  those  detailed  in  this  story.  The 
war  is  ended;  the  presses  of  the  Bible  House  at  New 
York  are  no  longer  running  day  and  night  in  the 
effort  to  print  sufficient  khaki  Testaments.  Are 
they  resting?  Far  from  it.  They  are  busy  trying 
to  provide  the  Home  Agencies  with  so  many  of  the 
popular  books  that  had  to  be  sidetracked  last  year 


EASTERN  AGENCY 


69 

for  lack  of  paper  and  presses.  And  now,  with  an  in¬ 
creased  appropriation,  and  with  a  (piickened  faith 
in  the  power  of  (iod’s  Word,  we  i)laii  an  advance  in 
the  circulation  of  tlic  Scripttires  in  every  part  of  tin’s 
great  field.'’ 


Eastern  Agency 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  H.  J.  Scudder,  B.D. 

137  Montague  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Established  1908.  Field  :  The  State  of  New  York  and  neighboring  regions 
not  otherwise  cared  for.  Circulation  during  the  year  1918,  30,098. 
Aggregate  circulation  since  1908,  642,609. 

Mr.  Scudder  reports  a  most  interesting  year,  par¬ 
ticularly  in  connection  with  the  Army  and  Navy 
Fund  campaign,  and  in  the  visitation  of  Debarkation 
Hospitals  in  and  about  New  York  City,  of  which  a 
striking  account  is  given  in  his  report.  Limited 
funds  for  the  general  work  and  the  needs  and  op¬ 
portunities  of  the  Army  and  Navy  combined  to 
emphasize  the  latter.  However,  a  distribution  of 
30,093  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  3,157  being  Bibles, 
9,673  Testaments,  and  17,263  portions,  in  39  lan¬ 
guages  and  dialects,  was  accomplished  through  the 
lielp  of  13  workers,  15,926  families  being  visited. 

In  1917  the  circulation  totaled  58,427  volumes, 
nearly  double  the  1918  circulation.  In  addition  to 
the  reasons  prevailing  in  the  other  Agencies  for  a 
decreased  distribution  in  the  year  under  review,  a 
considerable  reduction  was  due  to  the  comparatively 
small  amount  of  open-air  work  carried  on  in  Brooklyn 
and  vieinity  in  1918  because  of  war  restrictions. 

Army  and  Nivy  Campaign  Work 

The  Advisory  Committee  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Eastern  Agency  devoted  much  time  and  thought  to 
the  problem  of  how  to  reach  churches  and  individuals 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  Society’s  needs. 


70 


EASTERN  AGENCY 

A  Personal-work  “Endless  Chain” 

After  much  tboujj^ht  and  prayer  a  personal-work 
circular  was  adopted  and  widely  distributed  at  Bible 
Classes,  prayer  meetings  and  church  services  through 
the  efforts  of  members  of  the  Advisory  Committee, 
the  Agency  Secretary  and  his  assistants.  This  appeal 
asked  for  a  dollar  or  more  from  the  person  receiving 
it,  but  also  requested  each  recipient  to  distribute  by 
personal  effort  four  copies  of  the  appeal  to  four  friends 
or  acquaintances,  and  to  request  each  of  them  to 
give  a  dollar  or  more  toward  the  work,  and  secure 
four  friends  to  do  the  same,  and  so  on  indefinitely. 
It  was  in  reality  a  personal-work  “endless  chain,  ”  and 
proved  very  helpful  and  successful  in  enlisting  the 
prayers,  sympathies  and  gifts  of  many  widely  scat¬ 
tered  lovers  of  the  Word. 

The  Poughkeepsie  and  Gloversville  Campaigns 

The  second  method  for  soliciting  funds  was  the 
employment  of  a  campaign  manager,  who  made  his 
headquarters  for  a  month  or  more  in  a  large  city  to 
get  in  personal  touch  with  the  churches  of  that  city 
and  vicinity.  Mr.  W.  H.  Mead  was  engaged  for  this 
form  of  effort.  The  first  center  selected  was  Pough¬ 
keepsie,  where  Mr.  Mead,  assisted  by  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Avis  Austin,  labored  faithfully  and  persistently 
among  churches  and  individuals  for  about  two  months. 

The  next  center  selected  was  Gloversville,  N.  Y. 
Leaving  Mrs.  Austin  in  Poughkeepsie  to  follow  up  the 
beginning  that  had  been  made,  Mr.  Mead  was  trans¬ 
ferred  to  Gloversville,  and  was  assisted  for  a  week 
by  the  Agency  Secretary. 

Influenza  Epidemic 

This  pernicious  epidemic  spread  all  over  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  interfered  with  all  our  fall  and 
winter  plans  for  getting  in  personal  touch  with  the 
churches.  As  a  last  resort  600  personal  letters  to  as 


EASTERN  AGENCY 


71 

many  pastors  of  several  denominations  were  sent 
forth  requesting  assistance  for  the  Society’s  war  work. 
A  stamped  ancl  addressed  envelope  was  inclosed  with 
the  appeal,  but  only  al)out  100  replies  were  received, 
the  remaining  500  pastors  l)eing  either  “too  busy,” 
or  not  sufficiently  interested  to  favor  us  with  a  reply. 
Just  $600  was  received  from  the  churches  and  pastors 
that  responded. 

From  Gloversville  Mr.  Mead  visited  Amsterdam, 
and  interested  the  ministers  of  that  city  in  the  So¬ 
ciety’s  important  war  service.  As  a  campaign  in 
Amsterdam  at  that  time  did  not  seem  advisable,  it 
was  agreed  that  the  work  be  presented  in  all  the 
churches  during  October.  Careful  and  extensive 
arrangements  were  made  during  the  summer  months, 
but  when  we  were  about  to  start  for  Amsterdam  a 
telegram  was  received  stating  that  all  public  meetings 
had  been  forbidden  on  account  of  the  influenza 
epidemic !  Thus  all  our  carefully-laid  plans  and 
preliminary  expenses  counted  for  naught. 

The  total  from  all  sources  amounts  to  $6,426.50, 
so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  trace  the  contributions, 
many  of  which  were  sent  direct  to  the  New  York  office. 

The  Year’s  Colportage  Work 

In  his  report,  Mr.  Scudder  says: 

“With  January,  1918,  the  Eastern  Agency  en¬ 
tered  upon  the  most  discouraging  year  of  its  history. 
The  additional  cut  of  $1,100  in  the  appropriations 
made  it  necessary  to  reduce  the  colportage  force  to  an 
almost  negligible  quantity.  The  valuable  services  of 
the  Rev.  A.  M.  D.  Riggio  had  to  be  discontinued; 
also  the  part-time  labors  of  Mr.  Jacobellis.  As  a 
result,  from  February  to  October  practically  no  work 
was  done  among  the  large  Italian  population  in 
Greater  New  York  and  vicinity.  As  the  year  under 
review  closed  we  were  rejoiced  to  learn  from  the 
New  York  office  that  the  appropriations  of  the  Agency 


EASTERN  AGENCY 


72 

would  1')e  considerably  increased  for  1919.  In  view 
of  the  added  funds,  Mr.  Riggio  was  re-employed 
from  October  15,  1918,  and  will  continue  during  1919. 
An  additional  worker,  an  earnest,  ^wide-awake  young 
man,  Angelo  B.  Traina,  will  also  devote  his  entire 
time  to  work  among  the  Italians  and  foreigners 
throughout  New  York  State  during  the  coming  year. 

Remarkable  Interest  among  Indians 

“  There  is  a  remarkable  interest  in  the  Bible  among 
Italians.  The  pastors  of  the  Italian  Protestant 
churches  testify  that  the  year  1918  was  one  of  the 
most  encouraging  in  the  history  of  their  work.  Even 
among  Catholics,  Bible  Classes  with  the  Bible  as  a 
text-book  are  organized  in  many  of  the  churches. 
We  also  learn  that  the  Pope  has  recently  directed 
every  priest  to  read  a  portion  of  the  Scriptures  in  the 
vernacular  of  the  people  every  Sunday.  These  are 
certainly  encouraging  signs  of  the  times. 

The  Colporteurs’  Difficulties 

“  The  colporteurs’  sales  fell  from  19,823  in  1917  to 
10,759  in  1918,  a  decrease  of  9,064 — nearly  fifty  per 
cent.  Mr.  Carlson  was  unable  to  do  much  work 
among  the  sailors  on  the  water  fronts  because  of  the 
strictness  of  the  war  regulations.  He  had  a  pass 
which  gave  him  the  right  and  privilege  to  visit  steam¬ 
ers  while  loading  or  unloading,  but  it  took  him  nearly 
two  hours  to  get  by  the  various  men  who  had  to 
scrutinize  him  and  his  pass  before  he  could  get  on  a 
vessel.  The  demand  for  Swedish  and  Norwegian 
Scriptures  was  very  great,  but  owing  to  lack  of  books 
could  not  be  met. 

“Mr.  Findlay  continued  in  Rochester  throughout 
the  year,  and  writes  that  1918  ‘has  been  the  hardest 
year  I  have  ever  had  in  the  work  here.’  He  suc¬ 
ceeded,  however,  in  selling  6,254  books,  and  received 
for  them  $945.42,  as  against  8,000  books  in  1917,  for 
which  he  received  $859.20. 


EASTERN  AGENCY 


73 


County  Fairs 

“  1'Ii('  only  ('oniity  fairs  visited  this  yc'ar  in  l.li.o  tc'rri- 
tory  of  t  lic  ICast  ('.rn  Ajj^ency  were  1. 1  lose  at  whieli 
Mr.  I'indlay  had  Bible  bootlis. 

“  Mr.  h''indlay’s  report  is  in  [lart  as  lollows: 

“‘This  has  been  the  hardest  year  I  have  ever  had 
in  the  work  here,  and  I  suppose  it  was  the  same  all 
over.  Yet  I  can  say  that  I  would  not  have  missed 
the  lessons  I  have  learned  during  the  past  year  for 
anything.  I  personally  distributed  nearly  400  Testa¬ 
ments  to  soldiers,  with  the  name  of  each  young  man 


W  • 

i*w  isa  Kfe 


iK*  CHUi 

K<4v»»w3 


%r}K*  cm\ 


Ymia  Soy  Hrs  Got  r 
TESTPSMENT 

&UT  WIRT  ftBOUT  THE 
OTHER  FELLOW 

toy, 


t't  kshim-  <  a  a 


PS4  ihc  CHUff  'H 
Pf.l^SHtNC  .  A , 


PUi  she  CHO) 

Ac 


R,tiWCHUi 

pf;»SHmG  i 


H  R.tii,«CH01 
Bchin4 

,  ^  pmsmm  i 


TIIR  CHUKCH  BEHIND  PEUF^iiiwo  AROUND  THE  EXHIBIT 


EASTERN  AGENCY 


74 

on  the  front  page  in  gold,  and  many  of  these  boys  re¬ 
quested  that  I  ])irt  them  on  our  prayer  list.  The 
other  day  a  lady  said,  ‘‘Why  don’t  you  send  your 
Bibles  to  Germany — the  peoj^le'  liere  don’t  need 
them.”  Ah!  how  true  it  is,  that  the  harvest  is 
great,  but  the  soul  seekers  are  few.’  ” 

First  Premium  at  the  Albion  Fair 

“  Mr.  Findlay  visited  six  county  fairs  and  had  some 
very  interesting  experiences.  He  found  the  people 
more  responsive  than  they  were  the  year  before,  and 
made  better  sales.  The  Bible  booth  at  the  Albion  fair 
was  awarded  the  first  premium  for  the  best  exhibit  at 
the  fair.  Concerning  this  phase  of  his  work  Mr.  Find¬ 
lay  writes : 

“  ‘Another  year  at  the  fairs  has  come  and  gone,  and 
oh,  what  a  change!  The  young  men  you  used  to  see 
are  nearly  all  gone,  and  everyone  you  meet  seems  to 
be  trying  to  carry  his  own  burden.  I  am  hoping  to 
have  the  picture  of  the  Albion  fair,  with  a  story 
of  the  work,  in  next  Saturday’s  papers.  I  have  had 
the  best  exhibit  I  have  ever  had  this  year,  with  Per¬ 
shing’s  pictures  all  over,  and  also  a  large  card  I  had 
printed  in  large  type— Your  boy  has  got  a  Testa¬ 
ment,  BUT  WHAT  ABOUT  THE  OTHER  FELLOW?  RE¬ 
MEMBER  THE  Soldiers’  Testament  Fund.  There  is 
a  great  change  at  the  fairs  this  year;  everybody  seems 
so  tender-hearted  and  so  willing  to  listen  when  you 
speak  to  them  of  Christ.  I  am  inclosing  the  first 
premium,  granted  for  our  exhibit  at  the  Albion  fair. 
I  can  tell  you,  we  had  a  show  all  our  own.’  ” 

The  Secretary’s  Activities 

The  work  of  the  Secretary  during  1918  was  out  of 
the  ordinary.  Early  in  the  year,  owing  to  the  serious 
illness  of  the  office  assistant,  and  also  to  the  solicita¬ 
tions  of  help  for  the  Army  and  Navy  Bible  Fund, 
he  was  confined  closely  to  the  office  for  the  first  three 


EASTERN  AGENCY 


75 

months.  Then  for  a  month  from  April  8th  he 
traveled  extensively  in  connection  with  the  Army 
and  Navy  campaij^n. 

Owing  to  the  serious  illness  oC  Dr.  P'ox,  in  March, 
and  his  inability  to  carry  on  his  work  at  the  Bible 
House,  the  Eastern  Agency  was  asked  to  loan  the 
services  of  its  Secretary  to  assist  Dr.  Haven  in  the 
tremendous  pressure  that  was  upon  him,  owing  to 
the  double  duties  he  was  compelled  to  carry  because 
of  Dr.  Fox’s  illness.  For  two  months  and  a  half — 
from  the  middle  of  June  to  the  end  of  July,  and  again 
throughout  September — Mr.  Scudder’s  time  was 
mainly  devoted  to  the  work  at  the  Bible  House,  New 
York,  in  connection  with  which  the  1918  “Story” 
was  edited  and  published. 

Army  and  Navy  Debarkation  Hospitals 

During  December  and  lapping  over  into  January, 
1919,  Mr.  Scudder  had  the  privilege  and  pleasure  of 
visiting  a  number  of  the  Debarkation  Hospitals,  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  the  chaplains  or  Red  Cross 
workers  amply  supplied  with  all  the  Scriptures  needed 
for  our  wounded  heroes.  Space  does  not  permit  an 
extended  recital  of  the  interesting  conversations 
Mr.  Scudder  and  his  co-worker,  Mr.  B.  Carlson, 
had  during  their  visits.  For  a  full  account  the  reader 
is  referred  to  the  Bible  Society  Record  of  February, 
1919,  or  to  the  103rd  Annual  Report  of  the  Society. 
Mr.  Scudder  writes : 

“A  few  instances  will  suffice  to  show  of  what 
stuff  ‘our  boys’  are  made,  and  how  the  living  Word 
has  counted  with  them. 

Blood-stained  Testaments 

“Many  men  told  us  that  they  had  carried  a  Testa¬ 
ment  for  some  time  at  the  front,  but  had  lost  it  when 
wounded.  One  said:  ‘ My  Testament  was  so  soaked 
with  blood  that  I  had  to  throw  it  away,  and  I  am  very 


EASTERN  AGENCY 


76 

to  have  another.  ’  Another  showed  Mr.  Carlson 
his  blood-stained  Testament  and  said  he  would  not 
])art  with  it  for  anything.  Still  another  showed  him 
a  d'estament  the  center  of  which  had  been  bored  out. 
l^y  a  piece  of  shrapnel  that  seemed  to  have  had  a 
spinning  motion,  and  acted  like  a  drill.  After  cutting 
a  clean  hole  through  the  Testament,  leaving  a  border 
of  less  than  half  an  inch,  the  bit  of  shrapnel  wounded 
the  soldier  severely  in  his  chest.  His  life  was  undoubt¬ 
edly  saved  by  that  American  Bible  Society  khaki 
Testament ! 


“Lucky,”  though  Maimed 

“The  many  remarkable  experiences  and  untold 
sufferings  of  these  brave  men  will  never  be  fully  re¬ 
corded.  The  great  majority  of  them  were  cheerful, 
and  spoke  of  their  luck.  One  who  had  lost  a  leg  said : 
‘  I  was  lucky  not  to  have  lost  them  both.  ’  Another 
said :  ‘  As  I  was  lying  flat  on  my  stomach,  with  shells 
flying  all  around  me,  I  heard  a  cry  from  behind,  me — 
“Say,  Buddy,  help  me  a  bit,  will  you?”  I  knew  the 
lad  had  been  wounded,  so  I  twisted  round  on  my 
stomach  and  when  my  feet  were  where  my  head  had 
been  a  shell  struck  near  my  feet  and  it  seemed  as 
though  I  was  blown  twenty  feet  through  the  air. 
One  foot  is  gone,  but  it  is  lucky  my  head  wasn’t 
where  my  feet  had  been!’  Another,  who  had  had 
one  arm  shattered  and  both  legs  wounded,  observer! : 
‘I  am  lucky  to  have  the  use  of  one  hand.’ 

Some  Experiences 

“Another,  holding  himself  up  on  his  elbow  on  the 
bed  to  give  his  back  a  rest  and  change,  related  how  he 
went  ‘  over  the  top  ’  at  Chateau-Thierry.  As  he  was 
crawling  along  on  his  stomach  he  felt  a  terrible  burn¬ 
ing  sensation  in  his  hip.  Weak  and  fainting,  he 
crawled  into  a  shell  hole  and  lay  there  in  agony  for  six 
hours  before  assistance  could  be  rendered.  ‘  While  I 


EASTERN  AGENCY 


ri 

was  there,  ’  he  said,  ‘another  lad  crawled  in,  pulled  out 
his  pencil  and  a  piece  of  paper,  and  tried  to  write 
something.  There  were  only  two  words  written,  and 
they  could  not  be  made  out,  and  then  he  died  right 
near  my  side.  Another  crawled  in,  and  together 
we  prayed  that  no  shell  would  fall  into  our  place  of 
refuge.  Give  me  that  bag,  if  you  will,  and  I  will 
show  you  what  the  doctor  took  out  of  my  hip.’ 
He  fished  out  a  piece  of  metal  as  large  as  an  egg, 
with  rough,  cruel  sides,  and  said  it  had  been  in  his 
flesh  for  hours  before  it  was  taken  out,  and  that  it 
was  red  hot  when  it  entered.  He  was  a  Catholic  lad 
and  had  carried  his  Testament  with  him  ‘over  the 
top.  ’ 

The  Boys  Read  their  Testaments 

“To  my  question,  ‘Was  your  Testament  a  com¬ 
fort  to  you  ?  Did  you  and  the  boys  find  time  to  read  ?  ’ 
he  said,  ‘Yes,  the  boys  read  their  Testaments  and 
they  all  prayed,  especially  when  the  shells  were  rain¬ 
ing  about  them.  Life  will  be  different  to  us  fellows 
after  facing  death  as  we  have  ‘  ‘  over  there !  ’  ’  ’ 

“It  was  very  interesting  to  find  that  the  large 
majority  of  soldiers  had  been  supplied  with  Testa¬ 
ments.  Roughly  speaking,  about  eighty  per  cent 
of  the  boys  had  received  some  portion  of  the  Word  of 
God.  Those  who  had  not  been  supplied  were  usually 
eager  to  have  a  copy  of  the  little  khaki  Testament. 
Two  lads  told  me  they  did  not  care  for  a  Testament, 
but  after  a  short  chat  each  accepted  one  and  promised 
to  read  it. 

Blind  Heroes  to  Have  Embossed  Bibles 

“One  morning  we  found  two  heroes  who  had  been 
blinded  in  battle.  One  of  them  had  lost  the  sight  of 
both  eyes,  both  his  legs  were  partially  paralyzed,  and 
one  arm  was  badly  wounded,  so  he  only  had  the  use 
of  one  hand.  The  other  soldier  was  able  to  distip- 


CENTRAL  AGENCY 


78 

guish  light  from  darkness  with  only  one  eye.  When 
asked  whether  they  would  like  to  have  the  Word  of 
God  in  embossed  type  when  they  learned  to  read,  both 
exclaimed  they  would  be  only  too  glad  to  have  a 
copy.  We  have  their  names  and  will  endeavor  to 
keep  in  touch  with  these  men.” 

Carrying  his  Testament,  though  Unable  to  Read 

One  of  the  most  interesting  experiences  Mr.  Carlson 
had  was  with  a  man  who,  when  asked  if  he  had  a  New 
Testament,  answered:  “Oh,  yes!  I  have  carried 
it  very  carefully  ‘over  the  top’  and  wherever  I  went.  ” 
In  reply  to  the  inquiry  as  to  whether  he  had  read  it  he 
said  rather  sheepishly:  “No,  I  did  not  read  it.” 
“Well,  why  not?”  “Because  I  don’t  know  how  to 
read;  but  I  liked  to  feel  it  in  my  pocket,  for  it  was 
a  comfort  to  me,  and  I  felt  it  was  a  protection  in 
danger.”  To  him,  as  to  thousands  of  others,  the 
Testament  was  a  visible  evidence  and  assurance  of 
the  presence  and  reality  of  God.  If  there  was  any¬ 
thing  of  God  anywhere  around,  the  “boys”  wanted 
this  with  them  in  battle.  Mr.  Carlson  offered  to 
read  to  this  illiterate  soldier  from  the  Testament,  and 
he  gratefully  accepted.  After  listening  awhile  to 
some  of  the  Psalms,  and  the  Saviour’s  wonderful 
words  of  life,  the  man  exclaimed:  “My!  that  is  very 
beautiful,  and  as  soon  as  I  get  well  I  am  going  to 
learn  to  read  so  that  I  can  read  the  Bible  for  myself.  ” 

Central  Agency 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  Frank  Marston,  D.D. 

424  Elm  Street,  Cincinnati,  O. 

Established  1909.  Field :  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  and 
Mississippi.  Circulation  in  1918,  52,039  volumes.  Aggregate  cir¬ 
culation  since  1909,  683,513  volumes. 

The  year  1918  was  the  first  year  of  Mr.  Marston’s 
service  as  Secretary  of  this  Agency,  and  it  was  cer¬ 
tainly  one  of  hard  apprenticeship.  A  limited  staff', 


CENTRAL  AGENCY 


79 

decreased  funds,  intense  cold,  heatless  Mondays, 
church  less  Sundays,  transportation  delays,  influenza, 
and  lack  of  Scriptures,  were  some  of  the  handicaps 
that  had  to  be  faced.  However  52,039  volumes— 
of  which  6,840  were  Bibles,  23,158  Testaments,  and 
22,041  portions — in  22  languages,  were  put  into  cir¬ 
culation,  as  against  65,508  in  1917.  The  decrease 
was  due  “not  to  lack  of  demand,  for  the  call  for 
Scriptures  was  never  so  great,”  but  to  the  causes 
above  enumerated. 

The  Year’s  Work 

Mr.  Marston  writes: 

“I  presume  it  might  be  interesting  to  relate  some 
of  the  incidents,  and  describe  some  of  the  conditions, 
of  the  Central  Agency’s  work  during  1918.  I  shall  be¬ 
gin  with  the  work  in  Ohio.  I  was  never  so  much  im¬ 
pressed  with  the  polyglot  character  of  the  state’s 
population  as  during  this  past  year.  Possibly  Ohio 
is  not  near  the  site  of  ancient  Babel;  but,  neverthe¬ 
less,  we  have  here  the  confusion  of  tongues.  A  man 
in  Canton  sends  an  order  for  Scriptures  in  twenty- 
three  different  languages. 

An  Order  for  25,000  Roumanian  Bibles 

“The  Roumanians  of  Akron  asked  the  Society  for 
25,000  Roumanian  Bibles.  It  was  my  privilege  to 
visit  that  Roumanian  colony  and  preach  to  them 
through  an  interpreter.  I  have  never  seen  a  body 
of  men  more  in  earnest  about  anything  than  were 
those  men  in  the  matter  of  getting  the  Bible  in  their 
own  tongue.  And  now,  after  many  weary  months 
of  waiting,  the  Bibles  are  ready  for  them,  and  they 
can  read  the  ‘wonderful  works  of  God  in  the  tongue 
wherein  they  were  born.  ’  Much  credit  is  certainly 
due  the  Bible  Society  for  l^ringing  out  these  foreign 
Scriptures,  for  it  had  to  be  done  l3y  a  special  photo¬ 
graphic  process  tliat  made  it  very  expensive.  De- 


80 


CENTRAL  AGENCY 


mands  for  these  foreign-language  Scriptures  come  to  us 
continually  from  all  over  the  state_of  Ohio. 

Kentucky 

“Kentucky  is  a  rich  field  for  the  sowing  of  the 
Word  of  God.  At  present  I  have  only  two  full-time 
colporteurs  in  this  state,  with  four  half-time  men. 

“I  have  just  transferred  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Morgan  from 
'rennessee,  where  he  did  a  splendid  piece  of  work,  to 
the  river  counties  of  western  Kentucky.  In  answer  to 
my  request  for  some  of  his  experiences  he  writes: 
‘Had  usual  experience  of  rain,  snow,  mud,  sunshine, 
springtime,  seedtime,  drouth,  and  harvest;  some¬ 
times  pleasant,  sometimes  otherwise;  sometimes  good 
roads,  sometimes  bad.  You  may  be  assured  I  will 
do  my  best  and  continue  in  the  work  if  I  can  make 
both  ends  meet.  ’  I  may  say  here  that  Mr.  Morgan 
has  been  in  the  habit  of  occasionally  returning  one- 
half  his  month’s  salary  for  the  work  of  the  Bible  So¬ 
ciety,  with  instructions  to  ‘put  it  where^it  will  do  the 
most  good.  ’ 

Apostolic  Labors  of  Mrs.  Andrews 

“One  of  the  most  needy  parts  of  this  great  state  is 
the  mountain  section.  I  have  had  two  full-time  col¬ 
porteurs  here  part  of  the  time,  Mrs.  H.  M.  Andrews 
and  the  Rev.  John  L.  Centers.  The  work  of  Mrs. 
Andrews  was  almost  apostolic,  missionary  in  the 
truest  sense  of  the  word.  Taking  the  Scriptures  into 
Bibleless  homes,  praying  with  the  family,  visiting 
the  sick,  and  even  burying  the  dead,  she  literally 
carried  these  mountain  people  on  her  heart.  She 
worked  in  the  midst  of  perils  in  the  mountains  and 
in  the  valleys,  and  crossed  swollen  streams  on  dan¬ 
gerous  footbridges  to  reach  Bibleless  homes  in  the 
mining  quarters  or  in  the  deep  recesses  of  the  moun¬ 
tains.  Leading  whole  families  to  Christ,  establishing 
women’s  prayer  meetings,  teaching  them  how  to  pray. 


CENTRAL  AGENCY 


81 

escaping  only  with  her  life  from  a  roaring  torrent 
that  swept  away  the  stock  of  Bibles  she  tried  in  vain 
to  save,  she  did  a  great  work  for  the  Bible  Society 
and  for  God.  It  was  with  great  regret  that,  on  ac¬ 
count  of  scarcity  of  funds,  I  had  to  let  this  noble 
Christian  woman  leave  our  service. 

In  Mountain  Mining  Camps 

“Mr.  Centers,  too,  is  doing  a  splendid  work  in  the 
mountains  of  this  state.  The  influenza  played  havoc 
in  his  community.  He  writes  in  October:  ‘Not 
worked  this  month.  Everything  completely  blocked.  ’ 
New  families  are  coming  into  these  coal  fields  from 
all  parts  of  the  country,  many  without  Bibles  or  even 
a  Testament. 

Tennessee 

“I  have  had  six  workers  in  Tennessee  for  all  or 
part  of  the  time.  Those  engaged  for  full  time,  how¬ 
ever,  had  to  be  laid  off  for  part  of  the  season  on  ac¬ 
count  of  scarcity  of  funds  with  which  to  pay  them. 

“Mr.  W.  A.  Young  had  more  than  he  could  do 
supplying  with  the  Scriptures  the  workers  of  the 
munition  plant  at  Nashville.  They  bought  eagerly,  and 
many  of  them  told  him  that  he  was  selling  them  the 
first  copy  of  the  Scriptures  they  had  ever  owned. 
It  was  difficult  to  keep  him  supplied  with  the  eight- 
cent  Testament  for  these  men.  He  writes  me  that 
during  the  four  years  he  has  been  in  Nashville  he 
has  sold  or  given  away  over  sixty  thousand  copies  of 
the  Scriptures,  either  in  or  around  the  city. 

Alabama 

“Our  force  has  been  very  small  m  this  state.  We 
ought  to  have  a  large  corps  of  workers  here,  both  in 
the  mountain  section  and  the  great  industrial  centers. 
As  it  happens,  we  have  had  only  one  laborer  in  the 
whole  state.  One  of  the  Mobile  pastors  writes  me 

that  it  is  a  very  needy  field.  It  is  strongly  Roman 

6 


ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


82 

Catholic  and  most  of  these  people  are  without  the 
Scriptures;  yet  they  should  have  the  Word  offered  to 
them,  at  least. 

Mississippi 

“This  is  another  rich  field  for  Bible  work  in  which 
but  little  has  been  done,  lately,  for  the  very  reason 
mentioned  so  often  in  this  report — ‘No  funds.’  I 
was  so  thankful  for  a  slight  increase  this  time,  in  order 
that  I  might  be  able  to  do  something  for  this  field. 
A  letter  appealing  for  help  has  reached  me  from  the 
Mississippi  Gulf  Coast. 

Ten  Years  in  Purgatory  for  Attending  a  Protestant 

Sunday  School 

“The  request  comes  for  Scriptures  for  a  little 
struggling  church  and  Sunday  school  in  the  home  of  a 
good  woman  who  is  trying  to  do  something  for  her 
neighbors  and  their  children.  She  has  opened  her 
house  for  a  Sunday  school — the  only  Protestant 
Sunday  school  in  the  town.  A  priest  told  a  little 
girl  that  it  would  take  him  ten  years  to  pray  her  soul 
out  of  purgatory  for  attending  this  Sunday  school.  I 
shall  tr\"  to  do  something  to  help  this  struggling  little 
band. 

“There  was  never  a  time  when  the  Bible  was  so 
badly  needed  as  now.  More  and  more  are  men  com¬ 
ing  to  see  that  it  is  impossible  to  live  by  ‘  bread  alone,  ’ 
and  that  the  living  Word  of  God  is  the  only  hope  of 
the  world.” 


Atlantic  Agency 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  Frank  P.  Parkin,  D.D. 

701  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Established  1910.  Field:  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  Delaware.  Cir¬ 
culation  in  1918,  159,760  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since 
1910,  1,607,046  volumes. 

With  a  limited  force  of  only  eleven  workers  and 
a  number  of  volunteers,  159,760  volumes  of  the 


ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


83 

Bible  were  put  in  circulation  during  1918,  a  decrease 
of  42,324  as  compared  with  1917.  Due  to  the 
financial  situation,  Dr.  Parkin  had  to  make  a  com¬ 
plete  readjustment  of  the  work  and  workers.  Con¬ 
siderable  attention  was  given  to  the  raising  of  money 
for  the  War  Scripture  Fund,  and  much  other  good 
work  was  accomplished  during  the  year,  as  the  fol¬ 
lowing  excerpts  from  Dr.  Parkin’s  report  indicate: 

The  Army  and  Navy  Campaign 

“While  disappointed  in  our  persistent  efforts  to 
secure  the  inclusion  of  the  Army  and  Navy  cause  in 
the  budget  of  the  ‘War  Chest’  for  Philadelphia  and 
vicinity,  no  time  was  lost  in  getting  our  appeal  before 
the  people  of  the  three  states  included  in  this  Agency. 
Notwithstanding  the  multitude  of  appeals  for  war 
purposes  and  for  special  denominational  campaigns, 
the  lovers  of  God’s  AVord  responded  generously  to  the 
urgent  calls  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  We  are 
recognized  as  the  historic  interdenominational  Bible 
Society,  and  this  proud  position  is  one  from  which  we 
are  not  to  be  deposed. 

Our  Colporteurs 

“  Although  these  consecrated  workers  have  been 
greatly  handicapped  during  the  year  because  of  their 
inability  to  secure  copies  of  the  Scriptures  in  many 
different  foreign  languages,  they  have,  nevertheless, 
not  been  idle. 

“Mr.  Gay,  who  for  nearly  two  decades  has  done 
splendid  service  in  Pittsburgh  and  vicinity  among  the 
foreigners  employed  in  the  steel,  coal,  and  coke  in¬ 
dustries,  has  been  paying  special  attention  to  the 
colored  population,  which  has  greatly  increased  there 
through  immigration  from  the  southern  states.  He 
reports  a  great  and  inviting  field  among  these  people. 
They  show  a  truer  knowledge  of  and  reverence  for 
the  Bible  than  do  many  of  the  foreigners  who  have 


ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


84 

come  from  southeastern  Europe.  The  growth  of 
ultrasocialistic  views  among  so  many  of  these  foreign 
laborers  is  proving  an  obstacle  to  the  work  of  our 
colporteurs. 

“Many  interesting  experiences  in  seeking  to  cir¬ 
cumvent  the  objections  which  he  meets  in  trying  to 
gain  access  to  their  homes  and  hearts  are  reported  by 
Mr.  Gay.  By  his  tact  and  knowledge  of  human 
nature,  as  well  as  his  familiarity  with  apt  passages 
of  the  Scriptures,  he  has  had  many  signal  victories 
over  the  forces  of  evil. 

“Two  other  colporteurs,  Israel  Moses  Joy,  a 
native  of  India,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Edwards,  a  colored 
pastor,  have  been  employed  on  part  time.  These 
men  have  labored  among  the  colored  populations  of 
Chester,  Pa.,  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  other  points, 
with  good  results. 

Shipyards  and  Munition  Plants 

“During  this  year  the  great  shipyards  along  the 
Delaware  have  been  teeming  with  humanity,  and 
the  same  has  been  true  of  the  munition  plants. 
While  government  regulations  were  such  that  our 
colporteurs  could  not  readily  gain  access  to  these 
men  while  at  work,  the  Rev.  A.  M.  Lewis,  one  of  our 
experienced  colporteurs,  systematically  visited  the 
many  villages  and  towns  that  sprang  up  everywhere, 
and  presented  the  claims  of  God’s  Book. 

Voluntary  Workers 

“  The  advice  to  seek  to  raise  up  a  new  generation  of 
voluntary  workers,  who  will  feel  their  responsibility 
for  canvassing  their  own  neighborhoods  and  parishes 
in  the  effort  to  provide  every  family  with  a  copy  of 
God’s  Word,  we  have  sought  to  follow.  Many  of  our 
pastors  have  a  growing  vision  of  the  possibilities  for 
great  usefulness  in  this  work  of  Bible  distribution. 
Th^  held  is  almost  unlimited,  and  every  influence 


ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


85 


is  brought  to  bear  to  secure  such  men  and  women  as 
will  help  and  not  hinder  in  this  important  service. 

College  Students 

‘  ‘  One  of  the  encouraging  signs  of  the  times  is  the  in¬ 
creased  attention  being  given  through  college  faculties 
and  college  Y.  M.  C.  A.’s  to  the  enrollment  of  college 
students  in  Bible  Classes.  In  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  great  help — both  direct  and  indirect — 
has  been  given  by  the  provost  of  the  University, 
Dr.  E.  F.  Smith,  and  many  of  the  professors  in  con¬ 
nection  with  the  University  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

“As  far  as  my  secretarial  duties  would  permit,  I 
have  tried  to  encourage  this  movement,  believing  it 
was  fraught  with  possibilities  of  untold  good  for  the 
student,  the  University,  the  community  and  the 
American  Bible  Society,  in  its  many  direct  and  in¬ 
direct  forms  of  influence. 

County  Bible  Societies 

“The  number  and  activity  of  the  various  county 
Bible  societies  and  various  local  auxiliaries  justify  a 
reference  to  their  place  of  great  usefulness  in  the 
spread  of  God’s  Word. 

“Some  of  these  societies  have  relapsed  into  in¬ 
activity  or  indifference.  By  correspondence  and 
direct  visitation,  however,  we  have  sought  to  secure 
a  reorganization  wherever  possible.  Several  of  the 
county  societies  in  New  Jersey  have  entered  upon 
the  second  century  of  their  history,  and  are  showing 
a  most  commendable  interest  in  the  work. 

Depositories  , 

“The  Southwestern  Department  is  under  the  care 
of  the  Rev.  J.  Walker  Miller.  It  includes  the  counties 
of  Allegheny,  Armstrong,  Beaver,  Butler,  Cambria, 
Fayette,  Greene,  Indiana,  Lawrence,  Somerset,  Wash¬ 
ington,  and  Westmoreland,  in  Pennsylvania,  under  the 


ATLANTIC  AGENCY 


86 

supervision  of  the  Young  Men’s  Bible  Society  of 
Allegheny  County.  The  depository  has  been  re¬ 
moved  to  No.  2018  Jenkins  Arcade,  Pittsburgh.  Mr. 
Miller  has  been  the  devoted,  conscientious  agent  in 
charge  of  this  work  for  many  years  past,  and  the 
center  has  come  to  be  the  recognized  distributing 
point  for  this  section  of  the  state. 

“The  Rev.  H.  G.  Harned,  the  veteran  superintend¬ 
ent  of  the  Northeast  Branch,  with  headquarters  at 
124  Washington  Ave.,  Scranton,  Pa.,  keeps  careful 
oversight  of  the  work  in  the  counties  of  Bradford, 
Lackawanna,  Pike,  Susquehanna,  Wayne,  and  Wyom¬ 
ing.  The  Lackawanna  Bible  Society  maintains  an 
active  organization. 

“At  Wilkes-Barre  Mr.  and  Mrs.  M.  E.  Stone,  in 
connection  with  the  Luzerne  County  Bible  Society, 
faithfully  represent  the  interests  of  the  Bible  cause.” 


THE  FOREIGN  AGENCIES 


In  the  following  review  of  the  Society’s  work  in 
foreign  lands  the  reader  will  find  evidences  of  the  re¬ 
markable  awakening  caused  by  the  world  war  among 
the  uncivilized  peoples  of  non-Christian  lands. 
They  are  reaching  out  to  America  and  Great  Britain, 
particularly,  for  a  helping  hand,  and  for  the  Book 
which  has  made  these  countries  the  most  enlightened 
and  magnanimous  nations  of  the  earth. 

In  Asia  and  Africa,  nations  are  in  the  forming,  and 
deep  undertones  of  a  restless  desire  for  better  things 
are  everywhere  apparent.  Truly  this  is  an  age  of 
unprecedented  opportunity  for  the  fulfillment  of  the 
Master’s  great  commission  to  preach  the  gospel  to  all 
the  nations.  This  commission  can  be  most  effectively 
carried  out  by  means  of  the  printed  page. 


The  West  Indies  Agency 

Agency  Secretary:  Jose  Marciai.-Dorado,  Ph.D. 

San  Juan,  Porto  Rico. 

Established  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  in  1898.  Field:  Cuba,  Porto  Rico, 
Haiti,  Dominican  Republic,  the  Islands  of  Martinique  and  Guade¬ 
loupe,  and  the  Virgin  Islands.  Circulation  in  1918,  11,051  volumes. 
Aggregate  circulation  since  1898,  746,338  volumes. 

The  first  report  of  the  new  Secretary,  Jose  Marcial- 
Dorado,  Ph.D.,  covers  a  period  of  a  little  less  than 
six  months,  during  which  time  he  traveled  extensively 

to  get  acquainted  with 
his  field  and  to  secure 
first-hand  information 
about  the  mission 
fields  and  their  needs. 
Dr.  Marcial  -  Dorado 
sailed  from  New  York 
on  July  8,  1918,  and 
has  prosecuted  h  i  s 
work  with  great  earn¬ 
estness  and  consecra¬ 
tion.  He  was  born  in 
Cadiz,  Spain,  in  1880. 
His  father  was  a  Pres¬ 
byterian  minister,  who 
was  sent  to  Africa  un¬ 
der  the  auspices  of  the 
Scotch  Mission  to  be 
a  missionary  in  Algiers. 
After  many  years  of 
very  successful  work 
in  Oran  he  was  ap¬ 
pointed  representative 
of  the  British  and  For¬ 
eign  Bible  Society  in 
Spain. 

Mr.  Marcial  -  Dora- 

DB.  JOSE  MARCIAL-DORADO  i  ^  . 

the  society’s  agent  for  the  west  indies  oO  WOrKCO  niS  way 


WEST  INDIES 


89 

through  the  University  of  Madrid  by  helping  in  the 
central  office  of  the  Bible  Society  of  Madrid,  Spain, 
and  during  his  apprenticeship  he  received  from  the 
University  the  degrees  of  Master  of  Arts  and  Doctor 
of  Philosophy  and  Literature. 

After  the  completion  of  his  studies  at  the  Uni¬ 
versity  the  Bible  Society,  under  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jameson, 
appointed  him  inspector  of  colporteurs,  and  he  was 
also  appointed  president  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Ma¬ 
drid.  It  was  at  that  time  that  Mr.  Marcial-Dorado 
began  a  very  successful  religious  campaign.  He 
wrote  for  the  newspapers  and  gave  lectures  through¬ 
out  the  country,  and  was  prosecuted  and  menaced 
by  the  fanatic  element.  In  1904  he  was  arrested  for 
preaching  the  gospel  on  the  streets.  He  made  his 
own  defense  in  court,  and  was  dismissed,  after  being 
complimented  by  the  judge  and  jury. 

This  experience  of  his  life  made  him  interested  in 
law,  and  when  the  American  Bible  Society  called  him 
to  this  country  he  was  about  to  take  his  last  examina¬ 
tions  in  order  to  become  a  lawyer. 

Mr.  Marcial-Dorado  is  well  known  in  Spain  as  a 
writer  and  orator,  and  also  on  account  of  his  interest 
and  efficient  help  in  the  religious  development  of  the 
country.  He  has  prominent  friends  among  the 
higher  classes  in  Spain,  and  has  helped  nobly  the 
working  classes  in  the  country.  He  is  especially  well 
known  and  liked  among  the  miners  in  the  English 
districts. 

We  believe  the  Society  to  be  particularly  favored 
in  the  coming  of  Dr.  Marcial  to  its  staff,  and  look 
forward  with  hope  to  his  service  in  this  Spanish¬ 
speaking  field  of  great  needs  and  opportunities. 

Concerning  the  six  months  of  his  labors.  Dr. 
Marcial-Dorado  writes: 

‘  ‘  My  first  duty  was  to  know  the  mission  fields  and 
their  needs,  and  my  second  to  know  the  social  ele¬ 
ments  that  are  not  in  direct  contact  with  the  missions : 


WEST  INDIES 


90 

that  is,  teachers,  professional  men,  writers,  etc.  My 
knowledge  of  the  Latin  race  and  my  experience  in 
Spanish  countries  has  shown  me  the  need  of  knowing 
the  higher  classes,  really  the  ones  that  are  farther 
apart  from  religious  life  and  religious  activities,  but 
nevertheless  very  influential  and  worth  knowing. 

Porto  Rico 

“In  Porto  Rico,  one  of  the  islands  where  the  cir¬ 
culation  of  the  Bible  has  been  greater,  the  influence 
of  the  gospel  is  very  noticeable.  I  shall  always  re¬ 
member  with  a  great  deal  of  gratitude  and  satis¬ 
faction  the  kind  welcome  given  me  by  the  mission¬ 
aries  in  Porto  Rico.  I  also  visited  all  of  the  members 
of  the  American  government  and  all  the  schools; 
in  addition  I  wrote  for  the  newspapers.  The  civil 
and  military  authorities  and  journalists  were  very 
kind  to  me,  indeed.  I  worked  with  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
in  order  to  help  the  soldiers  and  the  training  camps 
for  officers. 

Great  Demand  for  the  Scriptures 

“Our  missionaries  and  our  workers  increased  their 
orders  in  such  a  way  that  our  small  supply  was  soon 
exhausted.  All  the  letters  from  our  agents  brought 
the  same  plea:  ‘More  books — please  send  us  more 
books  1’  Our  sub-Agent,  Mr.  Drury,  wrote  to  me 
saying,  ‘The  demand  for  books  is  so  great  that  we 
sincerely  hope  the  American  Bible  Society  will  soon 
increase  the  appropriation  for  this  territory.  ’  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Archilla  said  to  me,  ‘We  are  in  a  critical 
period — it  is  evident  that  the  time  has  come  when 
the  people  are  anxious  to  read  the  Bible,  and  we 
are  not  in  a  position  to  meet  their  demands.  ’ 

“The  missionary  work  in  Porto  Rico  is  spreading 
and  naturally  the  demand  for  more  Bibles  keeps  in¬ 
creasing.  Besides  this  phase  there  are  others  well 
worth  noticing.  Persons  of  the  higher  circles,  both 


WEST  INDIES 


91 

in  the  American  and  Spanish  colonies,  are  persuaded 
of  the  need  for  an  increasing  circulation  of  the  Bible 
in  Porto  Rico. 

Testimony  of  Public  Men 

“The  Hon.  Mr.  Yager,  governor  of  Porto  Rico,  in 
speaking  to  me  said:  ‘I  fully  appreciate  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  the  circulation  of  the  Bible;  that  kind  of  work 
is  not  only  religious,  but  also  instructive.  ’  One  of  the 
leading  newspaper  men  said  to  me:  ‘The  Bible  has 
strongly  influenced  the  American  character,  and  we 
assure  you  that  that  book  is  becoming  more  and  more 
needed  in  this  island.  ’ 

“  In  one  of  my  trips  an  old  man  who  lived  in  a  hut 
near  a  sugar  central  showed  me  a  New  Testament, 
practically  worn  out.  He  had  read  it  every  day 
since  a  young  man  and  had  taught  his  grandchildren 
to  read  in  it. 

Santo  Domintfo 

“Santo  Domingo  is  another  field  where  the  need  of  a 
circulation  of  the  Bible  has  increased  greatly.  Ameri¬ 
can  intervention  has  succeeded  in  restoring  peace  and 
safety  to  the  country,  and  missionary  work  is  pro¬ 
gressing  there.  Many  workers  have  asked  me  for 
books.  The  Spanish-speaking  people  are  anxious 
to  read  the  gospel,  but,  unfortunately,  Spanish¬ 
speaking  missionaries  are  very  scarce.  There  are 
only  a  few  churches  for  Spanish-speaking  people  in 
the  north  side  of  the  island. 

“There  is  nothing  in  the  south,  however,  and  the 
Porto  Rican  brethren  want  to  help  Santo  Domingo 
by  sending  missionaries;  that  is  why  they  were  so 
insistent  about  books.  There  is  a  great  opportunity 
in  Santo  Domingo,  not  only  for  missionaries  but  for 
the  American  Bible  Society.  It  was  my  good  for¬ 
tune  to  witness  the  eagerness  of  the  people  there  to 
hear  the  gospel.  Many  volunteered  to  go  through 
the  village  and  sugar  central,  selling  Bibles. 


92  MEXICO 

The  War  Emphasizes  the  Need  of  the  Human  Soul 

“We  helped  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  as  much  as  possible. 
We  helped  soldiers,  especially,  among  whom  we 
found  a  great  number  of  eager  youths  ready  to  study 
the  gospel  and  to  receive  the  divine  message.  We 
met  many  who  read  the  Bible  in  their  free  time,  and 
also  those  who  wanted  to  have  some  difficult  passages 
explained  to  them. 

“A  very  intelligent  Colombian  merchant  said  to 
me  last  December:  ‘It  is  quite  remarkable  how  the 
war  has  brought  upon  the  human  soul  a  deeper  need 
of  faith.  ’  He  was  right,  and  I  am  convinced  that 
this  faith  will  make  us  realize  the  blessings  of  know¬ 
ing  our  Lord — and  we  can  only  know  him  through 
this  Holy  Word. 

Virgin  Islands 

“On  account  of  the  poor  communications  this  year 
we  were  not  able  to  do  regular  work  in  the  small 
Virgin  Islands.  Nevertheless,  some  books  have  cir¬ 
culated  by  the  efforts  of  our  brethren  in  Porto  Rico. 
I  received  a  letter  from  an  unknown  brother  in  which 
he  said  to  me:  ‘These  divine  books  are  very  well 
accepted  by  the  people  here.  ’ 

The  Circulation 

“The  circulation  for  the  year  was  11,051  volumes, 
as  against  18,382  the  year  before,  a  decrease  of  7,331 
— due  to  the  lack  of  Scriptures  and  colporteurs,  and 
not  to  any  lack  of  demand  for  the  Word  of  God.” 

Mexico 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  A.  H.  Mellen 
Apartado  1373,  Mexico  City,  Mexico 

Established  1878.  Field:  Republic  of  Mexico.  Circulation  in  1918, 
70,940  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since  1878,  1,210,997  vol¬ 
umes. 

During  three-fourths  of  the  year  this  Agency  was 
in  charge  of  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Jordan,  who  was  trans- 


MEXICO 


93 

ferred  in  October  to  be  Seeretary  of  the  Panama 
Canal  and  Central  America  Agency.  From  October 
the  Rev.  A.  H.  Mellen,  archdeacon  of  the  Domestic 


REV.  ARTHUR  H.  MELLEN 

and  Foreign  Missionary  Soeiety  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  kindly  agreed  to  take  charge  of 
the  work,  and  in  January,  1919,  was  appointed 
Agency  Secretary  for  Mexico. 


94 


MEXICO 


Mr.  Mellen  was  born  in  the  western  part  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  Later  his  father  moved  to 
Geneva,  N.  Y.,  where  Mr.  Mellen  graduated  at  Ho¬ 
bart  College.  His  home  was  a  religious  one,  the 
family  going  regularly  to  the  Episcopal  Church — his 
father  invariably  having  family  prayers  in  the  morn¬ 
ing,  which  included  a  short  and  carefully  selected 
Bible  reading.  Mr.  Mellen  went  to  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  was  ordained  to 
the  ministry  by  Bishop  Coxe,  in  Geneva,  N.  Y. 
After  one  year  as  a  deacon  at  home  he  went  as  a 
volunteer  missionary  to  Cuba,  where  he  spent  two 
years.  He  then  returned  home  and  was  some  years  in 
a  country  parish  and  mission  work  in  western  New 
York,  from  which  he  came  to  New  York  City  as 
assistant  minister  at  Holy  Trinity  Church.  The 
death  of  his  father  required  him  to  go  back  to  the 
old  farm  to  attend  to  many  matters  there,  and  es¬ 
pecially  to  forest  the  timber,  which  he  did,  securing 
the  services  of  a  Canadian  lumberman  and  purchasing 
a  portable  sawmill,  working  with  the  men  himself  in 
putting  the  lumber  on  the  market.  He  found  this  a 
good  school,  teaching  him  many  things  about  the 
management  of  men  as  well  as  business  enterprise. 
Before  going  back  into  church  work  he  traveled  in 
Europe,  and  then  offered  himself  to  the  Board  of 
Missions  of  the  church,  to  go  wherever  he  was  needed. 
The  Board  sent  him  to  Mexico  in  the  spring  of  1909, 
and  he  was  appointed  by  the  bishop  to  do  work 
among  the  English-speaking  people  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Tehuantepec. 

Three  years  he  was  supported  there  by  the  people 
to  whom  he  ministered.  At  the  end  of  three  years  he 
was  sent  by  the  bishop  to  the  city  of  Tampico  for 
a  year,  and  after  that  became  archdeacon  in  charge  of 
Mexican  missions,  also  treasurer  for  the  Board  of 
Missions  in  the  district. 

Mr,  Mellen  that  the  work  which  he  is  now 


MEXICO 


95 

undertaking  is  vital  to  all  missionary  enterprises  in 
Mexico.  His  appointment  has  the  heartiest  appro¬ 
bation  and  indorsement  of  all  of  the  missionary  forces 
at  work  in  and  about  the  city  of  Mexico.  We  expect 
to  hear  from  him  from  time  to  time,  and  our  readers 
will  look  eagerly  for  his  description  of  conditions 
there,  and  the  influence  of  the  Bible  in  building  up  a 
stable  Christian  civilization. 

The  Year’s  Circulation 

As  in  most  of  the  Agencies,  there  was  a  decrease  in 
the  number  of  Scriptures  put  into  circulation.  By 
way  of  explanation,  Mr.  Mellen  writes : 

“According  to  the  statistics,  we  have  again  fallen 
below  the  figures  of  the  previous  year.  The  total 
number  reported  for  the  year  1917  was  97,265,  in¬ 
cluding  Bibles,  Testaments,  and  portions,  both  sold 
and  given  away.  Our  records  for  the  year  1918 
show  a  total  of  70,940.  This  means  a  falling  off  of 
26,325. 

“In  Mexico,  under  the  heading  ‘  portions,  ’  nearly  all 
of  the  sales  are  in  the  form  of  the  book  of  Proverbs 
and  the  Four  Gospels,  a  package  of  five  little  paper- 
covered  books  with  the  Mexican  colors  on  the  cover 
of  each.  The  package  is  supposed  to  sell  for  twenty- 
five  centavos,  or  twelve  and  a  half  cents;  but  they  are 
generally  sold  very  much  cheaper,  or  even  given 
away,  if  there  is  the  slightest  indication  that  they  are 
going  to  be  read.  The  purpose  in  placing  these  in 
circulation  is  to  create  a  desire  for  the  whole  Bible. 
And  each  one  of  the  little  books  is  counted  as  a  volume 
in  making  up  the  total  of  the  number  placed  in  cir¬ 
culation  during  the  year. 

“In  view  of  this,  let  us  make  a  closer  study  of  the 
reports  for  the  two  years  1917  and  1918.  At  the 
beginning  of  this  article  the  statement  was  made 
that  the  two  totals  show  a  difference  of  26,325  in 
favor  of  the  year  1917.  In  what  sort  of  books  do 


MEXICO 


96 

we  find  this  difference?  Please  note  the  following 
figures : 


“Number  of  Bibles  less  in  1918  than  in  1917 .  160 

“  “  New  Testaments  less  in  1918  than  in  1917  420 
“  “  Portions  less  in  1918  than  in  1917  .  25,745 


Total .  26,325  ” 


The  Bible  as  a  Companion  and  Friend 

Mr.  Mellen  continues: 

“Three  students  from  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary  went  out  during  the  months  of  November 
and  December,  and  some  of  the  facts  shown  by  this 
short  campaign  were  very  interesting,  giving  great 
reason  for  hope  in  the  future.  In  cities  where  evan¬ 
gelical  churches  have  been  for  some  years  established, 
it  is  signifieant  that  there  is  very  little  call  for  the 
Bible  in  parts,  or  even  for  the  New  Testament.  Also, 
the  Bible  is  not  wanted  in  the  cheaper  bindings,  but 
in  the  very  best  leather  binding  that  can  be  had.  If 
there  had  been  in  stock  on  the  shelves  of  the  Agency  in 
Mexico  City  a  large  supply  of  these  Bibles  at  the  end 
of  the  year  the  total  figure  of  the  sales  for  the  year 
would  have  been  quite  different.  The  sales  whieh 
these  students  made  seemed  to  go  directly  from  the 
little  paper-covered  Gospels  to  the  Bibles,  as  the  num¬ 
ber  of  New  Testaments  sold  was  very  small  indeed. 
When  people  who  are  poor,  or  in  very  moderate  cir¬ 
cumstances,  are  willing  to  spend  money  to  buy  a 
Bible  bound  in  leather,  and  on  India  paper,  and  want 
the  size  that  will  easily  go  into  the  pocket  or  a  travel¬ 
ing  bag,  it  means  that  the  Bible  is  desired  as  a  com¬ 
panion  and  a  constant  friend. 

Much  Open  Territory  for  Seed  Sowing 

“Looking  back  over  this  last  year,  and  then  into 
the  future,  there  are  some  very  hopeful  signs. 

“The  steady  advance  and  firmness  of  all  of  the 
mission  work  in  the  country  means  that  hundreds 


MEXICO 


97 


of  Bibles  will  be  placed  in  circulation  without  the 
cost  to  the  American  Bible  Society  of  paying  col¬ 
porteurs  to  do  the  work.  But  the  places  where  mis¬ 
sions  are  well  established  are  like  so  many  little  dots 
on  the  map,  and  these  missions  only  serve  to  make 
more  clear  the  great  open  territory  where  the  men 
can  go  and  keep  on  going;  where  the  seed  will  have 
to  be  flung  to  the  wind;  where  so  much  will  fall  on 
good  ground  and  bring  forth  an  hundredfold. 

A  Persistent,  Consecrated  Tailor 

“Not  long  ago  one  of  the  missionaries  told  me  of 
one  of  his  men,  a  hard-working  tailor  in  a  small 
village,  who  became  interested  in  selling  books  to  his 
neighbors  for  pure  love  of  the  blessed  work.  This 
man  at  his  own  expense  took  a  rail  trip  to  a  neighbor¬ 
ing  town  where  missions  were  unknown;  no  one  there 
was  interested  in  his  Gospels,  and  he  had  to  pay  for 
his  meals.  He  made  eighteen  visits  in  the  village, 
and  paid  his  fare  back  to  his  home  with  the  sale  of 
just  one  New  Testament  to  the  credit  of  the  journey. 
With  small  pay  for  the  labor  in  his  little  shop,  and 
his  children  to  be  fed  and  clothed  at  high  prices,  how 
could  he  keep  on  doing  that  sort  of  thing? 

Conclusion 

“A  period  of  twelve  months  is  a  short  time  in  the 
slow  but  steady  progress  of  the  great  work  of  making 
the  Word  of  God  known  to  all  the  world,  but  it  seems 
to  me  that  this  review  of  the  year  1918  in  the  republic 
of  Mexico  should  All  us  with  joy,  and  with  a  great  en¬ 
thusiasm  for  the  progress  of  the  work  in  the  years  to 
come.” 


T 


Panama  Canal  and  Central  America 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  W.  F.  Jordan 
Bible  House,  Cristobal,  Canal  Zone. 

Established  1892.  Field  :  The  Republics  of  Central  America,  Panama,  the 
Canal  Zone,  and  part  of  Colombia.  Circulation  in  1918,  39,153 
volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since  1892,  584,792  volumes. 

Upon  the  retirement  in  January,  1918,  of  the  Rev. 
James  Hay  ter,  who  for  ten  years  had  enthusiastically 
developed  the  work  of  this  Agency,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
G.  A.  Miller,  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Epis¬ 
copal  Mission  in  the  Canal  Zone,  very  kindly  took 
charge  of  the  Agency  and  supervised  the  work  until 
the  arrival  in  October  of  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Jordan,  who 
was  transferred  from  the  work  in  Mexico  to  this 
Agency. 

The  Year’s  Work 

Earthquakes  in  Guatemala,  war  conditions  af¬ 
fecting  the  Canal  Zone,  restricting  all  visiting  of  boats 
and  docks,  as  well  as  many  other  difficulties,  were 
great  hindrances  to  the  work;  yet  the  statistics  show 
that  3,211  Bibles,  5,190  Testaments,  and  30,752  por¬ 
tions — a  total  of  39,153  volumes — were  distributed  in 
1918,  as  against  57,332  in  1917.  The  number  of 
correspondents,  colporteurs  and  Bible-women  was 
61,  the  copies  of  Scripture  distributed  being  in  12 
languages.  In  the  course  of  the  year’s  report,  Mr. 
Jordan  says: 

“The  few  weeks  that  have  intervened  since  our 
arrival  at  the  Bible  House  have  been  very  busy  ones. 
Our  coming  was  so  delayed  that  we  did  not  see  Dr. 
Miller,  who  had  been  so  kindly  looking  after  the 
correspondence  of  the  Society  since  the  resignation  of 
Mr.  Hayter.  The ’early  part  of  the  year  saw  Guate¬ 
mala  shaken  with  terrific  and  devastating  earth¬ 
quakes,  while  the  year  itself  closed  with  a  terrific 
scourge  of  influenza  in  Bogota,  Colombia.  The 
medical  training  of  our  representative,  Mr.  Hockings, 
in  the  missionary  school  in  England,  stood  him  in  good 


PANAMA  CANAL  AND  CENTRAL  AMERICA  99 

stead  here,  and  the  medical  authorities  in  Bogota  were 
very  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  his  services,  which 
were  freely  given  in  helping  to  care  for  the  victims. 

Earthquakes  in  Guatemala 

“In  Guatemala,  Mr.  Jules  Duffey,  brother-in-law 
of  Mr.  Hayter,  has  been  looking  after  the  interests 
of  the  Society.  Mr.  Duffey  begins  his  report  with 
the  quotation:  ‘For  the  mountains  shall  depart,  and 
the  hills  be  removed;  but  my  kindness  shall  not  de¬ 
part  from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my 
peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord.  ’  Mr.  Duffey 
says  this  verse  was  given  to  him  during  the  visitation 
of  the  terrible  earthquake. 

“He  writes: 

“  ‘Thank  God,  we  are  hearing  in  many  places  of  a 
great  awakening  in  spiritual  matters.  Souls  are 
inquiring  for  salvation  and  asking  for  somebody  to 
preach  the  Word  of  God  to  them. 

Churches  the  Result  of  Bible  Distribution 

“  ‘Several  years  ago  I  made  my  first  trip  as  col¬ 
porteur,  traveling  on  horseback  with  Roman  Her¬ 
nandez.  We  visited  the  department  of  “El  Quiche.” 
We  had  a  good  sale  of  books  among  Indians  and 
Ladinos.  It  was  quite  a  hard  experience  for  me,  as  I 
was  not  accustomed  to  that  kind  of  life.  Often  we 
had  to  sleep  on  the  floor  or  in  a  hammock  in  the 
Indians’  huts.  For  many  days  we  had  nothing  to 
eat  but  com  and  black  beans.  This  experience  was 
also  quite  a  blessed  one  in  the  Bible  work.  In  two 
of  the  places  visited  then  there  are  now  congregations 
of  believers,  when  at  that  time  there  were  none. 
How  important  is  the  work!  The  reading  of  this 
precious  Book  prepares  the  way  for  the  missionary.  ’ 

Honduras 

“In  Honduras,  during  the  past  year,  we  have  been 
unable  to  employ  colporteurs.  At  present  Honduras 


100  PANAMA  CANAL  AND  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

is  the  most  neglected  section  of  our  field.  Owing  to 
the  isolation  of  the  country,  we  have  not  been  able 
to  reach  it  and  supply  its  needs  in  any  adequate  sense 
since  the  war  broke  out.  Mr.  Hockings  has  just 
come  in  from  Colombia  and  is  starting  in  a  few  days 
for  a  trip  across  Honduras  by  mule  back.  The  trip 
will  probably  take  between  three  and  four  weeks, 
but  he  will  try  to  get  in  touch  with  all  the  missionaries 
and  establish  relations  with  them,  endeavoring  to 
make  more  satisfactory  arrangements  for  an  adequate 
supply  of  books  in  the  future. 

El  Salvador 

“The  following  is  the  report  of  Mr.  Leroy  W. 
McConnell : 

“  ‘This  is  a  very  small  republic,  averaging  about  175 
miles  in  length  by  75  miles  in  width,  but  it  has  a  large 
population  of  about  a  million  and  a  half.  The 
country  is  still  largely  dominated  by  the  clergy, 
except  in  certain  liberal  districts,  as  you  may  imagine 
from  the  fact  that  there  are  two  bishops  and  an 
archbishop — three  in  all.  This  year  I  have  felt  it 
very  noticeable,  however,  that  the  people  in  nearly  the 
whole  republic  are  becoming  more  receptive  to  the 
gospel,  and  willing  to  take  tracts  or  buy  a  cheap 
portion  of  the  Bible,  which  will  no  doubt  mean  in¬ 
creased  opportunities  for  the  colporteurs  soon. 

Bible  Corrects  the  Errors  of  Rome 

“‘Recently  we  discovered  a  group  of  people  in  a 
small  out-of-the-way  hamlet  who  had  bought  Bibles 
from  passing  colporteurs  eight  or  ten  years  ago,  and 
had  been  slowly  having  their  eyes  opened,  just  through 
the  Word  of  God,  to  the  error  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
way,  and  to  what  is  the  true  and  only  way.  Now 
they  are  organized  into  a  small  church  body  and  have 
regular  services  and  much  joy  in  their  fellowship  and 
confession  of  their  Lord.  Naturally,  since  they  have 
been  more  open  in  their  confession  there  has  resulted 


PANAMA  CANAL  AND  CENTRAL  AMERICA  101 

more  persecution,  and  just  recently  three  of  them 
were  held  up  by  a  large  group  of  men  and  flogged, 
their  Testaments  being  taken  from  them. 

“‘There  is  another  large  and  enthusiastic  group  of 
believers  in  the  hills  near  the  Honduras  border,  north 
of  here;  these  are  the  direct  product  of  the  Word  of 
God  left  by  passing  colporteurs.’ 

Nicaragua 

“Mr.  Walter  H.  Hooper,  of  Managua,  has  continued 
to  act  as  our  representative  during  the  past  year, 
without  any  charge  to  the  Society  for  his  services. 
The  only  colportage  work  has  been  done  by  the  mis¬ 
sion  workers  in  their  preaching  tours.  We  antici¬ 
pate  a  revival  of  Bible  distribution  as  well  as  other 
mission  work  in  this  field  during  1919. 

Costa  Rica 

“In  this  country,  also,  there  has  been  a  demand  for 
the  Bible  that  we  have  not  been  able  to  supply.  No 
colportage  work  has  been  done  during  the  year,  and 
the  circulation  has  been  secured  through  the  cor¬ 
respondents,  Mr.  Boyle  and  the  Rev.  Sidney  Ed¬ 
wards,  of  San  Jose. 

Venezuela 

“During  1918  the  work  in  these  countries  has  been 
united  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Alfred 
Hockings.  During  1917  Mr.  Hockings  was  in  Vene¬ 
zuela;  but  throughout  1918  has  had  his  headquarters 
in  Bogota,  Colombia.  Mr.  Carlos  Kramer  spent 
the  first  four  months  of  1918  in  colportage  work  in 
Venezuela,  but  the  rest  of  the  year  in  Colombia, 
where  during  the  first  nine  months  he  had  secured  a 
circulation  of  10,019  books. 

Persecution  of  Protestants  in  Colombia 

“Bogota,  Colombia,  is  another  field  from  which 
active  persecution  has  been  reported.  In  April  of 


102  PANAMA  CANAL  AND  CENTRAL  AMERICA 


MR.  ALFRED  HOOKINGS  ON  TOUR,  WITH  DON  BOSCO,  DONA  LOUISA  AND  DONA  MAGDALENA, 

CROSSING  THE  GREAT  RIVER  LEMPA  IN  SALVADOR 

this  year  a  mob  attacked  the  building  in  which  services 
were  being  held,  breaking  in  the  door  and  attempting 
to  injure  the  workers.  Fortunately,  no  one  was 
seriously  hurt.  In  October  the  terrible  epidemic  of 
influenza  struck  the  city,  and  Mr.  Hockings  reports 
that  a  great  change  was  noticed  in  the  attitude  of  the 
people  toward  the  mission  workers  when  they  saw 
them  giving  their  services  so  freely  to  help  fight  the 
dreadful  scourge. 

The  Terrible  Influenza  Scourge 

“To  quote  from  Mr.  Blockings’  letter  of  November 
9th: 

“  ‘The  deaths  have  been  on  an  average  of  150  a 
day,  and  when  we  think  that  this  city  has  only 
150,000  to  200,000  inhabitants,  you  will  see  that  it 
has  been  very  serious.  In  just  two  weeks  over  1,500 
have  been  buried,  and  the  deaths  keep  up  to  50  a  day 
still.  However,  the  worst  has  been  passed,  and  we 


PANAMA  CANAL  AND  CENTRAL  AMERICA  103 

think  that  by  the  end  of  this  month  things  should  be 
normal  again.  All  the  missionaries  without  ex¬ 
ception  have  been  down  with  it,  and  we  three  col¬ 
porteurs  were  down  at  the  same  time.  However, 
we  have  also  recovered,  for  which  we  thank  God. 

Pills  in  Return  for  Stones 

“  ‘The  great  poverty  has  made  sales  almost  im¬ 
possible,  but  we  hope  to  begin  again  next  week. 
Other  missionaries  have  also  been  visiting  the  sick 
in  the  barrios,  where  the  doctors  have  not  been  able 
to  go.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  it  has  all  had  a  re¬ 
markable  effect  on  the  fanatics.  My  barrio  was  the 
one  where  we  were  so  badly  stoned  some  time  ago, 
and  we  have  been  able  to  give  “pildoras  por  piedras’’ 
(pills  in  return  for  stones),  because  all  the  prominent 
ones  who  stoned  us  have  sought  our  medical  aid. 
My  little  knowledge  of  medicine  gained  in  the  Lon¬ 
don  hospitals  has  now  come  in  very  handy,  when 
those  who  knew  anything  of  medicine  have  been  in 
great  demand.  We  received  every  courtesy  and  help 
from  the  authorities  at  this  time.’ 

Canal  Zone  and  Panama  Canal 

“Normal  traffic  through  the  Canal  is  being  re¬ 
sumed.  At  the  present  writing  as  many  as  six,  seven, 
and  eight  ships  a  day  are  passing  through.  In  the 
month  of  November  185  ships  passed  the  Canal, 
representing  the  following  nationalities:  United 

States  81,  British  38,  French  13,  Norwegian  12, 
Chilian  6,  Japanese  and  Peruvian  5  each,  Dutch  2, 
Costa  Rican  2,  Ecuadorian  1. 

Army  and  Navy  Work  in  the  Canal  Zone 

“Something  has  been  done  toward  supplying  the 
needs  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  stationed  here.  Five 
hundred  Testaments  were  given  to  the  Porto  Rican 
regiment  on  the  Canal  Zone.  Besides  this  a  house- 


104  PANAMA  CANAL  AND  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

to-house  canvavSS  has  l:>een  made  of  the  eities  of  Colon 
and  Panama.  Some  Bibles  have  been  cireulated  in 
the  city  of  David,  in  the  interior,  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Mission  workers. 

Bibles  among  West  Indian  Negroes 

“A  great  many  Bibles  in  English  have  been  sold 
to  the  West  Indian  negroes  who  furnish  the  labor  in 
this  part  of  the  world.  They  bought  us  all  out  of 
cheap  English  Bibles  before  Christmas.  At  the 
present  writing  the  work  of  distribution  from  the 
Bible  House  is  at  a  standstill  for  lack  of  stock,  ail 
of  our  Spanish  books  and  all  the  cheap  English  books 
being  sold  out. 

The  Bible  Society’s  Launch 

“With  the  resumption  of  normal  traffic  through  the 
Canal,  and  with  a  removal  of  the  restrictions  made 
necessary  by  a  state  of  war,  work  on  the  ships  ought 
to  be  resumed.  We  hope  soon  to  see  the  Bible  So¬ 
ciety’s  launch  running  on  the  harbor  again,  with  its 
uniformed  workers  calling  the  attention  of  the  car¬ 
riers  of  the  world’s  commerce  to  the  one  Book,  the 
influence  of  whose  teachings  has  made  international 
commerce  in  its  present-day  proportions  possible.” 

Mr.  Jordan  concludes: 

“We  enter  the  new  year  with  our  hearts  full  of 
thankfulness  to  God  for  the  Bible  House  in  Cristobal 
and  all  for  which  it  stands;  also  for  the  privilege  of 
endeavoring  to  help  it  fulfill  the  functions  which  the 
donators  had  in  mind  for  it  in  God’s  plan  for  the  sal¬ 
vation  of  Latin  America.” 


La  Plata  Agency 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  F.  G.  Penzotti 

Casilla  de  Correo,  304,  Calle  Parana,  481,  Buenos  Ayres, 

Argentina 

Established  1864.  Field :  Spanish  South  America,  excepting  Venezuela 
and  Colombia.  Circulation  in  1918,  45,140  volumes.  Aggregate 
circulation  since  1864,  1,667,340  volumes. 

This  extensive  field,  covering  seven  republics — 
namely,  Argentina,  Bolivia,  Chili,  Ecuador,  Paraguay, 
Peru,  and  Uruguay — with  headquarters  at  Buenos 
Ayres,  was  very  seriously  affected  by  the  war.  It 
was  extremely  difficult  to  get  the  books  to  the  different 
portions  of  the  field,  and  shipping  was  so  irregular  that 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  procure  space  for  cases 
of  books,  even  when  the  books  were  available.  In 
spite  of  all  these  difficulties,  however,  the  Rev.  F.  G. 
Penzotti,  who  has  so  long  and  so  faithfully  cared  for 
the  interests  of  the  Society  in  this  field,  with  the  as¬ 
sistance  of  46  colporteurs  and  correspondents,  put 
into  circulation  45,140  volumes,  in  27  languages — 
11,414  being  whole  Bibles,  11,271  Testaments,  and 
22,455  portions. 

This  was  a  decrease  of  18,273  as  compared  with 
1917,  but  the  wonder  is  that  in  the  face  of  the  many 
difficulties  it  was  possible  to  get  over  45,000  copies 
of  the  Scriptures  in  circulation.  As  Mr.  Penzotti 
aptly  observes : 

“The  true  value  of  the  work  consists  not  so  much  in 
the  number  of  books  put  in  circulation,  or  in  the 
money  received  for  them,  but,  rather,  in  the  beneficial 
spiritual  part,  the  result  of  which  can  never  be  meas¬ 
ured  by  rule. 

Labor  and  Capital  , 

“Unfortunately,  men  like  to  go  their  own  ways, 
and  the  result  of  it  is  that  while  I  am  writing  these 
lines  in  the  metropolis  of  Latin  America,  the  govern¬ 
ment  is  going  to  decree  the  estado  de  sitio,  and  the 
noise  of  hundreds  of  detonations  is  heard  in  the  streets 


LA  PLATA 


106 

of  Buenos  Ayres,  causing  many  victims.  That  is  the 
struggle  between  labor  and  capital. 

“Nevertheless,  the  Bible  does  not  cease  to  carry 
forward  its  noble  and  spiritual  mission ;  no  other  work 
or  institution  has  done  a  greater  and  more  important 
service  than  the  Bible  in  the  struggle  for  liberty  of 
worship  and  the  conversion  of  many  souls.  ’’ 

The  Colporteurs  and  their  Fruitful  Service 

Mr.  Penzotti’s  report  records  many  interesting 
incidents  of  fruitage  from  Scriptures  sold  or  donated 
by  the  colporteurs  in  the  years  gone  by.  The  follow¬ 
ing  extracts  will  encourage  all  who  distribute  God’s 
Word  to  be  faithful  in  scattering  widely  the  living 
seed,  much  of  which  will  fall  in  good  ground  and  bring 
forth  an  hundredfold. 

The  Bible  Displaces  Catholic  Idols 

Our  veteran  colporteur,  Julian  Mangas,  writes: 

“Before  I  was  converted  to  God  my  craft  was  that 
of  a  gunsmith,  and  I  was  very  fond  of  hunting.  But 
once  revealed  to  me  the  power  of  God’s  Word,  I 
greatly  wished  to  become  a  hunter  of  souls;  for  Solo¬ 
mon  says  that  he  who  hunts  souls  is  wise.  One  day 
I  discovered  a  little  hut  in  which  a  man  eighty  years 
of  age  lived  with  his  mother,  a  woman  of  one  hundred 
and  three  years.  I  presented  myself  to  them  and 
spoke  of  the  love  of  Christ.  The  woman  began  to 
weep,  but  it  was  for  joy,  saying  that  she  never  in  her 
life  had  heard  such  a  message  of  grace  and  so  much 
love.  Her  son  said  to  me,  ‘Will  you  kindly  visit  us 
to-morrow?  I  desire  to  consult  with  you  about  this 
new  message  of  joy  which  you  have  brought  us  to¬ 
day.  ’  The  following  day  I  visited  them  again  and 
was  led  by  the  man  into  a  kind  of  large  habitation 
where  there  was  erected  an  altar,  with  a  virgin  and 
other  images,  all  of  them  covered  with  ornaments  of 
gold  and  silver.  These  poor  people,  being  very  ig- 


LA  PLATA 


107 

norant,  were  entirely  given  to  idolatry,  and  came  from 
far  to  worship  these  images.  He  showed  me  all  the 
idols,  and  asked  me,  ‘  What  do  you  say  of  this  ?  ’  The 
only  reply  I  had  to  that  was  to  read  them  from  Isaiah 
44,  Psalm  115,  Jeremiah  10,  1.  Corinthians  10:14,  and 
L  John  5:  4.  After  having  read  and  explained  to 
them  these  passages  I  marked  them  in  their  own 
Bibles.  The  man  became  entirely  convinced  of  the 
truth,  finally  converted,  and  destroyed  all  the  images 
he  found  in  his  house.  This  brought  down  upon  him 
a  strong  persecution  by  his  former  friends ;  yet  he  and 
his  mother  continued  to  drink  out  of  the  fountain  of 
life,  and  later  on  many  others  with  them.  ” 

Gospel  Meetings,  not  “Masses,”  Bring  Peace 

A  happy  mother  says ; 

“I  had  a  sick  child  three  months  old.  Being  tired 
of  the  many  doctors,  masses,  virgins,  saints,  offering 
candles,  and  promises  (I  then  was  a  very  devout 
Catholic),  I  was  very  near  to  breaking  down  under 
the  great  affliction  and  sadness  which  the  sickness  of 
my  child  brought  upon  me.  A  neighbor  of  mine 
spoke  to  me  about  Christ  and  the  gospel,  telling  me 
that  the  only  and  exclusive  remedy  for  my  child  and 
myself  was  to  be  obtained  through  his  divine  Word. 

“This  message  was  to  my  soul  like  fresh  water  to 
thirsty  ground.  I  attended  the  meetings  and  to-day 
am  enjoying  peace  and  happiness.  I  am  blessing 
that  happy  day  that  brought  to  my  soul  the  message 
of  my  beloved  Saviour.” 

“It  Shall  Not  Return  unto  Me  Void” 

Rafael  Pineyro,  one  of  the  colporteurs,  while  attend¬ 
ing  a  gospel  meeting  in  which  he  used  to  take  part, 
was  told  by  a  woman  that  her  husband  had  bought 
of  him  a  Bible  eleven  years  ago,  and  that  the  result 
of  it  was  that  her  husband,  herself,  and  their  daughter 
found  through  it  salvation  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


LA  PLATA 


108 

She  thanked  the  Lord  with  tears  in  her  eyes  for  the 
inexpressible  treasure  her  whole  family  had  found. 

Another  woman  rose,  and  said  that  some  years  ago, 
being  ill  in  a  hospital,  she  was  visited  by  a  colporteur 
who  gave  her  a  portion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which 
she  had  read  with  great  interest,  this  resulting  in  her 
salvation  and  joy  in  Christ. 

The  same  colporteur  received  a  letter  from  Spain, 
from  one  Orsindo  Fernandez,  in  which  he  related  to 
him  the  conversion  of  his  married  daughter  through 
reading  a  Bible  which  was  given  to  her  when  she  was 
in  Buenos  Ayres.  This  letter  at  the  same  time  brought 
him  the  news  of  her  death,  leaving  behind  her  a  glo¬ 
rious  testimony  of  faith  in  her  Saviour. 

This  colporteur  also  says:  “A  train  conductor 
entered  the  meeting  hall,  testifying  that  four  years 
ago  a  colporteur  who  was  traveling  in  the  same  train 
gave  him  a  Bible  which  the  Lord  had  used  as  a  means 
to  open  his  heart,  and  Christ  took  it  to  his  own.” 

A  Testament,  the  Real  “Book  of  Mass” 

He  continues:  “One  day  a  woman  came  in  and 
asked  for  a  ‘book  of  mass.’  A  New  Testament  was 
shown  to  her,  at  the  sight  of  which  she  exclaimed, 
‘That  is  not  the  book  of  mass!’  ‘What  do  you 
understand  by  the  word  mass  ?  or,  what  is  the  mass  ?  ’ 
I  asked  her.  ‘  It  is  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  ’  she  said. 
Then  I  read  and  explained  to  her  the  gospel,  the 
passion  and  death  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The 
woman,  greatly  moved,  but  happy  at  the  same  time 
for  having  discovered  that  treasure,  bought  a  New 
Testament  and  went  away.  The  Lord  will  surely 
have  done  his  work  in  this  woman’s  heart.  ” 

Chili 

The  Rev.  Victoriano  de  Castro  G.,  the  sub-Agent 
in  Chili,  states  that  the  year  1918  was  “one  of  hard 
struggles  and  trials,”  and  that  the  lack  of  funds  and 


LA  PLATA 


109 

books  “put  us  in  a  state  of  continual  anxiety  during 
the  whole  year.”  There  were  only  2  colporteurs 
employed,  but  their  work  was  supplemented  by  24 
correspondents.  These  26  workers  traveled  12,705 
miles,  visited  406  towns,  and  put  in  circulation  9,973 
copies  of  the  Scriptures. 

A  Tireless  Worker 

Concerning  the  work  of  Mr.  A.  Gonzales,  the  sub- 
Agent  writes: 

“Our  colporteur  A.  Gonzales  visited  the  min¬ 
eral  establishments  of  El  Teniente,  Goya,  El  Volcan 
and  Curanilahue  on  different  occasions,  and  we  are 
very  grateful  to  the  chiefs  of  these  establishments 
for  the  facilities  they  are  offering  us,  making  thereby 
our  work  more  easy  for  us.  This  good  brother,  who 
never  gets  tired  of  working,  very  often  goes  great 
distances  on  foot,  visiting  towns  and  villages  and 
carrying  along  with  him  a  goodly  stock  of  books, 
searching  especially  those  places  where  no  colporteur 
has  ever  been,  and  placing  in  the  hands  of  these 
people  the  Word  of  God.  Ultimately  I  had  to  re¬ 
strain  him  by  force  against  his  extreme  activity,  due 
to  which  his  health  was  seriously  affected  by  too 
excessive  labor.  The  doctor  who  visited  him  or¬ 
dered  him  to  greater  moderation  in  his  zealous  serv¬ 
ice.  ” 


Work  in  Other  Republics 

In  Paraguay,  with  its  half-million  inhabitants, 
“a  goodly  number  of  Scriptures”  were  placed  in 
circulation,  chiefly  in  the  Spanish,  Portuguese  and 
Guarany  languages.  In  Bolivia  and  ^  Ecuador  no 
special  work  was  done  on  account  of  war  conditions. 
In  Uruguay,  “a  very  progressive  country,  its  laws 
more  liberal  than  those  in  any  other  country  of  South 
America,  we  have  placed  in  circulation  the  greatest 
number  of  Scriptures,”  Mr.  Penzotti  says. 


BRAZIL 


no 

“Antonio  Fidalgo,  one  of  our  colporteurs  there, 
our  most  active  and  consecrated  worker,  has  put  in 
circulation  during  the  year  5,000  hooks,  not  without 
sacrifice  and  great  effort ;  upon  his  bicycle  he  traverses 
towns  and  villages,  often  on  foot,  going  great  dis¬ 
tances  to  the  camps  in  search  after  souls  for  Christ, 
visiting  every  ranch  he  meets,  and  looking  into  every 
comer.  ” 

In  Pern — “Our  sub-Agent,  Mr.  A.  M.  Munoz,  has 
been  doing  the  best  possible  to  attend  to  the  most 
urgent  necessities  of  this  field.  It  was  materially 
impossible  for  him  to  do  a  more  aggressive  work 
during  this  year,  considering  that  he  only  received  a 
single  consignment  of  Scriptures,  as  a  consequence 
of  the  terrible  world  war.  ’  ’ 

Conclusion 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Penzotti  says: 

‘  ‘  In  closing  this  small  report  I  have  the  impression 
upon  me  as  though  I  were  going  out  of  a  miasmatical 
and  powder-smelling  valley,  hearing  behind  me  the 
moans  of  its  many  victims ;  but  at  the  same  time  I  see 
before  me  the  dawning  of  a  beautiful  day,  and  hear 
the  sweet  song  of  ‘Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and 
on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men !  ’  “ 

Brazil 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  H.  C.  Tucker,  D.D. 

Caixa  do  Correio,  454,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil 

First  Agent  appointed  1854;  present  Agency  established  1876.  Circulation 
for  1918,  19,602  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since  1876,  l,188,ff0 
volumes. 

In  this  Agency  the  war  interfered  so  greatly  with 
transportation  facilities  that  supplies  of  Scriptures 
were  months  in  reaching  the  field  from  New  York. 
In  consequence,  the  circulation  for  1918  was  two- 
thirds  less  than  in  the  previous  year;  only  4,267 
Bibles,  4,867  Testaments,  and  10,468  portions,  a 


BRAZIL  111 

total  of  19,604  volumes  being  distributed,  as  against 
58,666  in  1917. 

Dr.  Tucker  writes:  “The  Agency  was  able  to  ob¬ 
tain  from  New  York  during  the  year,  in  time  to  get 
into  circulation,  only  18,152  copies  of  the  Scriptures. 
The  stock  on  hand  in  our  depository  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year  consisted,  as  at  the  close,  of  a  few  thousand 
copies  in  various  foreign  languages,  of  which  we  need 
to  keep  supplies  for  occasional  demands.  Receipts 
from  New  York  and  purchases  at  Rio  amounted  to 
19,400  copies,  while  the  distribution  for  the  year,  in 
29  languages,  amounted  to  19,602  copies,  as  follows: 


Total  sales  by  colporteurs. . . . 

.  1,318 

2,027 

3,029 

6,374 

Sales  at  depository . 

“  by  correspondents . 

821 
.  1,899 

444 

2,004 

587 

4,496 

1,852 

8,399 

Total . 

.  4,038 

4,475 

8,112 

16,625 

Donations  and  losses . 

229 

392 

2,356 

2,977 

Grand  total . . 

.  4,267 

4,867 

10,468 

19,602 

“This  is  by  far  the  smallest  circulation  that  the 
Agency  has  shown  for  years.  The  reason  for  the  de¬ 
crease  has  already  been  made  clear;  the  Bible  House 
at  New  York  made  every  effort  to  get  supplies  up  to 
the  full  limit  of  our  reduced  appropriation,  but  for 
lack  of  shipping  space  it  was  impossible  to  do  so.” 

The  War  and  the  Bible  in  Brazil 

Mr.  Tucker  makes  the  following  interesting  ob¬ 
servation  regarding  the  influence  exerted  by  the  war 
in  focusing  the  attention  of  the  people  of  Brazil  upon 
the  Bible:  “Who  can  measure  the  far-reaching  and 
endless  influence  of  the  world  struggle  in  awakening 
the  peoples  of  the  earth  to  the  importance  of  spiritual 
things,  and  in  riveting  their  attention  upon  Christ 
and  his  wonderful  words  of  life?” 

Dr.  Tucker  writes  further: 

“The  appeal  to  the  Word  of  God  and  its  real  value 
to  men  in  all  the  affairs  of  life  have  been  strongly  em- 


BRAZIL 


112 

phasized  during  the  present  world  struggle.  The  move¬ 
ment  is  becoming  widespread.  There  are  indications 
of  an  increasing  interest  in  knowing  and  making 
known  the  Bible  in  Brazil.  The  evangelical  papers 
have  published  reports  and  notices  of  the  efforts  of  the 
Bible  Societies  and  others  to  supply  Scriptures  to  the 
men  of  the  armies  and  navies  of  the  world,  to  the 
prisoners  and  men  in  the  camps.  The  opinions  of 
high  military  and  naval  authorities  as  to  the  worth  of 
the  khaki  Testament  to  the  men  in  the  service,  and 
the  testimonials  of  the  men  themselves  as  to  the 
blessings  and  strength  received  from  reading  and 
obeying  the  Word  of  God,  have  been  translated  into 
Portuguese  and  published.  The  information  im¬ 
parted  in  this  way  has  made  a  profound  impression 
and  awakened  interest.  These  impressions  made  upon 
Brazilian  minds  now  need  to  be  followed  up  by  a 
wider  circulation  of  the  Bible  and  plans  to  give  to 
every  man  who  can  read  easy  facilities  for  acquiring  a 
copy. 

A  Brazilian  Scholar’s  “Considerations  on  the  Bible” 

“For  some  time  it  has  been  known  that  Dr.  Jose 
Carlos  Rodrigues,  a  distinguished  Brazilian  scholar 
and  editor,  was  preparing  a  work  on  the  Bible.  He 
published  during  the  year  a  volume  entitled,  '  Con¬ 
sider  aqdes  sohre  a  Biblia  ’  (Considerations  on  the 
Bible),  which  might  be  called  an  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  the  Bible,  with  special  reference  to  preparing 
the  way  for  a  study  of  the  life  of  Christ.  The  book 
is  being  read  by  a  number  of  persons  and  is  attracting 
very  favorable  comment  from  various  sources.  It  is  a 
valuable  contribution  to  Biblical  literature  and  will  be 
most  useful  to  Bible  students;  it  will  also  create  in¬ 
terest  in  the  reading  and  study  of  the  Bible  among 
the  educated  and  liberal-minded  classes  in  society. 

“That  a  leading  editor  and  scholar  of  forty  years’ 
experience  and  success  in  a  country  where  the  Bible 


BRAZIL 


113 

is  little  known,  and  the  reading  of  it  by  the  masses 
discouraged,  and  even  forbidden  by  ecclesiastical 
authorities,  should  give  up  editorial  work  and  business 
to  devote  his  entire  time  to  the  preparation  of  such  a 
work,  and  others  that  are  to  follow,  is  a  matter  of 
great  significance. 

“Further  facts  and  incidents  might  be  related  to  show 
the  developing  interest  in  the  Bible  among  Brazilians. 

The  Bible  in  the  Army  and  Navy  of  Brazil 

“The  desire  to  do  for  the  men  in  the  Brazilian 
navy  and  army  what  has  been  so  strikingly  and  ef¬ 
ficiently  accomplished  for  the  forces  of  other  nations, 
has  manifested  itself  in  other  directions.  One  ex-col¬ 
porteur  of  the  Bible  Society  sent  a  generous  offering 
from  his  small  earnings  for  this  purpose ;  pastors  have 
spoken  from  their  pulpits  of  the  needs,  and  offerings 
for  the  fund  have  been  made.  Led  by  a  consecrated 
young  Brazilian  Christian,  a  group  of  men  obtained 
peiTnission  and  gave  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  to 
each  man  on  board  the  vessels  of  the  Brazilian  fleet 
just  before  leaving  for  European  waters  to  join  the 
Allies.  The  spirit  with  which  these  copies  were 
received  gave  encouragement  to  extend  the  work 
among  the  men  on  other  vessels,  in  the  forts  and  else¬ 
where.  A  Christian  woman  in  the  States,  learning  of 
this  effort  and  of  the  need  of  larger  supplies  of  Scrip¬ 
tures,  sent  a  special  offering  of  $30  for  the  work. 

“The  great  lesson  of  the  world  tragedy  of  the  last 
four  years  is  one  that  has  often  been  repeated  in 
human  history,  and  nowhere  recorded  with  greater 
clearness  and  force  in  the  stories  of  the  nations  found 
in  the  Bible:  ‘Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation;  but 
sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people.  ’ 

Urgent  Need  of  a  Bible  House  in  Rio  de  Janeiro 

For  the  third  or  fourth  year  Dr.  Tucker  appeals  for 

a  suitable  Bilde  House  in  the  center  of  that  large  and, 

s 


BRAZIL 


114 

important  city,  Rio  de  Janeiro.  God  grant  that  this 
earnest  appeal  to  meet  an  urgent  need  may  arrest 
the  attention  of  one  of  the  Master’s  stewards  of 
wealth  and  influence  him,  or  her,  or  a  family,  to 
contribute  the  $50,000  to  purchase  the  building  God 
has  ready  for  use  in  honoring  him  and  in  scattering 
the  Word  of  Life  among  the  people  of  the  republic  of 
Brazil. 

We  must  again  repeat  and  emphasize  the  desira¬ 
bility  of  the  Bible  Society  securing  a  small  suitable 
building  of  its  own  in  the  center  of  the  city  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  the  political,  commercial,  social,  and  re¬ 
ligious  capital  of  Brazil.  Now  that  the  world  seems 
about  to  enter  a  period  of  reconstruction,  and  Brazil  is 
gaining  an  importance  never  before  enjoyed  as  a 
factor  in  world  affairs,  the  time  seems  most  pro¬ 
pitious  for  this  advanced  step.  Just  at  present  there 
is  a  splendid  opportunity  for  acquiring  a  building 
well  located  and  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  Agency; 
if  secured  it  would  not  only  amply  accommodate  the 
work  of  the  Agency  but  would  furnish  a  rental  income 
sufficient  for  taxes  and  upkeep,  and  would  give  a 
considerable  sum  annually  for  the  expenses  of  Scrip¬ 
ture  distribution.  The  property  can  be  purchased 
for  $50,000  or  less. 

We  need  not  perhaps  repeat  here  the  arguments  in 
support  of  this  claim;  these  have  been  set  forth  spe¬ 
cially  in  reports  for  the  past  two  or  three  years;  let 
the  reader  interested  refer  to  the  report  for  1917. 


Levant 

Acting  Agency  Secretary:  Mr.  W.  W.  Peet 
Bible  House,  Constantinople,  Turkey 

Rev.  Franklin  E.  Hoskins,  D.D. 

(In  charge  of  the  Arabic-speaking  portion  of  the  field) 

Beirut,  Syria. 

Established  1836.  Field :  The  Turkish  Empire  in  Europe  and  Asia,  Bul¬ 
garia,  Greek,  Servian,  and  Bulgarian  Macedonia,  Albania,  Egypt, 
and  the  Soudan.  Circulation  in  1918,  65,054  volumes.  Aggregate 
issues  during  60  years  ending  December  31, 1918, 3,955,790  volumes. 

Throughout  the  entire  year  1918,  the  Levant 
Agency  was  without  a  supervising  officer  on  the  field, 
as  Mr.  W.  W.  Peet,  the  Acting  Agent,  has  been  in  the 
United  States  on  furlough.  There  were,  however, 
al^le  representatives  of  the  Society’s  work  in  Constan¬ 
tinople,  Bulgaria,  Syria,  and  Egypt. 

In  July,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Franklin  E.  Hoskins,  one  of 
the  Presbyterian  missionaries  at  Beirut,  was  sent 
out  jointly  by  his  Board  and  the  American  Bible 
Society,  by  way  of  the  Far  East,  to  go  as  far  as  Egypt, 
and  to  reach  Beirut  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 
He  is  to  supervise  that  part  of  the  Society’s  work  in 
the  Levant  which  is  embraced  in  the  Arabic-speaking 
regions. 

The  Year’s  Circulation 

Owing  to  the  war  conditions  that  prevailed  last 
year,  and  the  consequent  impossibility  of  securing 
reports  from  all  engaged  in  Scripture  distribution, 
an  accurate  statement  of  the  year’s  circulation  cannot 
be  given.  So  far  as  figures  are  presented,  Constanti¬ 
nople  reports  a  distribution  of  34,315  volumes,  and 
Egypt  of  30,739,  making  a  total  of  65,054,  which  is 
approximately  the  record  of  the  year.  In  1917  the 
reported  circulation  was  70,037. 

Mr.  Peet,  who  resided  in  Constantinople  during 
the  first  three  years  of  the  war,  submits  a  very  full 
and  most  interesting  report,  in  which  he  gives  an 
intimate  view  of  the  appalling  conditions  and  trials 
due  to  the  war,  and  a  succinct  description  of  the  po- 


LEVANT 


116 

litical  policies  and  intrigues  before  and  during  it. 
The  limits  of  this  Story  make  it  impossible  to  review 
these  matters,  but  the  reader  who_  is  particularly  in¬ 
terested  in  this  field  is  urged  to  secure  and  peruse  the 
full  report  as  it  appears  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Third 
Annual  Report  of  the  Society,  sent  on  application, 
for  25  cents. 

Bearing  of  the  War  on  Bible  Work 

The  atrocious  misrule,  the  dire  cruelties,  the  un¬ 
imaginable  sufferings,  and  the  indescribable  atrocities 
of  the  Turkish  Empire  during  the  past  four  years, 
have  resulted  in  making  all  classes  of  the  people  ap¬ 
proachable  as  never  before.  The  utter  collapse  of 
Germany  and  Turkey,  and  the  signal  victory  of  the 
Allies,  coupled  with  the  fortitude  of  the  persecuted 
Christian  Greeks  and  Armenians,  have  robbed  the 
Young  Turk  party  of  all  prestige  and  created  a  marked 
interest  in  the  Book  that  comforted  and  strengthened 
the  courageous  Christians  in  their  hour  of  trial.  Out 
of  the  maelstrom  of  the  war  and  its  barbarities  there 
is  sure  to  come  a  calmness  of  judgment  and  a  spirit 
of  inquiry  concerning  Christ  and  his  Word  that  will 
tend  to  the  more  rapid  advancement  of  his  kingdom, 
Mr.  Peet  observes. 

Unparalleled  Record  of  Crirnes  Hinders  the  Work 

The  following  extracts  from  Mr.  Peet’s  report 
give  one  conception  of  the  trying  conditions  and 
faithful  efforts  in  Scripture  distribution  in  the  Le¬ 
vant. 

“After  Turkey  was  fairly  launched  into  the  general 
war,  the  pretext  of  military  requirements,  though 
scarcely  needed,  was  ready  at  hand,  and  met  with 
the  approval  of  the  Ccnnan  allies  of  the  Turkish 
Empire.  Then  began  tliat  series  of  atrocities  un¬ 
paralleled  in  the  whole  record  of  the  crimes  committed 
by  Turkish  governments  in  the  past.  The  Armenians 


LEVANT 


117 

were  the  prineipal  victims  of  this  savage  policy  of 
extermination.  Ilnndrcds  of  tlionsands  of  imioceiit 
women  and  children  were  marched  on  foot  over  in- 
terminal  )le  distances  in  the  heat  of  summer  or  in  the 
frosts  of  winter,  while  most  of  the  men  were  merci¬ 
lessly  slaughtered,  sometimes  before  the  eyes  of  their 
own  families.  The  horrors  of  these  deportations  and 
massacres  defy  all  description.  More  than  two  mil¬ 
lion  Armenians  and  Greeks  are  reckoned  as  deported 
from  their  homes,  and  only  one-third  of  them  is  now 
believed  to  survive.  Two-thirds  perished  from  sick¬ 
ness,  starvation,  exposure,  and  massacre.  Similar 
methods  were  adopted  against  Arabs  in  Syria,  Jews 
in  Palestine,  and  Chaldeans  in  Mesopotamia,  ir¬ 
respective  of  religion. 

“This  blind  cruelty,  however,  was  not  the  only 
characteristic  of  the  Young  Turk  misrule.  The  whole 
population  of  the  empire  was  plunged  into  darkest 
'  misery.  Indiscriminate  military  conscription  drained 
away  the  greater  part  of  the  country’s  productive 
force.  The  ‘Workmen’s  Regiments’  will  long  sur¬ 
vive  in  the  memory  of  the  Christians  of  this  country 
as  a  very  hell  of  torture,  far  more  murderous  than  the 
worst  fire  of  an  attacking  enemy.  The  men  were 
com])elled  to  work  from  morning  to  evening,  ill  fed, 
scantily  clad,  deprived  of  night  lodgings,  plunged  in 
(ilth,  expOvSed  to  the  rigors  of  heat  and  cold.  I'Ikmi- 
sands  and  thousands  of  stalwart  young  men  perished. 
It  was  a  capital  method  for  the  extermination  of  all 
that  the  Christian  races  possessed  in  youth  and  vigor. 

Position  of  the  Levant  Atfency 

“In  the  midst  of  this  turmoil,  what  prospects  could 
there  be  for  a  successful  Bible  work?  It  was  clear 
that  while  the  war  was  going  on  Bible  work  must  be 
careful  not  to  expose  itself  to  too  much  light !  Never¬ 
theless,  during  several  months  after  the  beginning 
of  hostilities  the  work  of  distribution  was  continued 


118 


LEVANT 


in  the  method  that  Dr.  Bowen  had  adopted  with  such 
a  successful  issue.  vSoon,  liowever,  its  inevitable  de¬ 
cline  cajne  on.  d'hings  were  day  by  day  getting 
tighter  and  tigliter,  a,  feeling  of  uneasiness  was 
spreading  over  the  country,  roads  were,  closed  to 
private  travelers  and  to  merchandise,  communica¬ 
tions  by  post  became  precarious,  and,  lastly,  the  de¬ 
portations  and  massacres  of  the  Armenians  in  the 
spring  of  19LS  brought  the  work  to  a  complete  stand¬ 
still. 


Staff  of  Colporteurs  Reduced  from  35  to  5 

“It  was  a  painful  moment  to  Dr.  Bowen,  for  he  saw 
the  labor  of  a  lifetime  breaking  to  pieces  in  a  few  short 
months.  His  faith  in  the  vitality  of  the  work  was 
not  shaken  for  a  moment,  but  he  felt  the  necessity  of 
relaxing  the  effort  toward  distribution  in  the  dis¬ 
tricts  where  the  storm  was  raging.  Of  the  thirty 
colporteurs  who  covered  the  whole  extent  of  Asia 
Minor,  only  five  were  retained  in  the  Bible  Society’s 
service.  Broosa,  Smyrna,  Aleppo,  Adana,  and  Tre- 
bizond  were  thus  the  only  cities  of  Asia  Minor  where 
the  Agency  had  men  engaged  in  Bible  work. 

Scriptures  for  Soldiers  and  Prisoners 

“During  the  past  year  we  sent  several  times  by 
post,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  F.  S.  Onderdonk,  secretary 
of  the  Students’  Movement  in  Vienna,  a  number  of 
single  Gospels  and  other  portions  of  the  Bible  in  the 
Ttrrkish  language.  These  were  wanted  for  free  dis¬ 
tribution  among  wounded  and  sick  Turkish  soldiers 
in  various  hospitals  in  Austria.  We  received  at  times 
letters  of  acknowledgment  from  the  chief  nurses  of 
these  hospitals,  expressing  their  appreciation  and 
thanking  us  for  the  books.  The  sick  soldiers,  they 
wrote,  were  very  glad  to  have  them  and  openly  mani¬ 
fested  their  joy.  But  we  were  soon  obliged  to  stop 
sending  these  1)ooks.  One  day  an  officer  of  the  Secret 


LEVANT 


119 

Service  called  at  our  office  with  one  of  those  single 
Oospels  in  his  hand,  and  asked,  in  a  rather  authori¬ 
tative  manner,  what,  we  meant  l)y  sending  such 
hooks  to  Turkisli  soldiei’s  in  Austria. 

Lovintf  Service  by  a  Paslor  of  a  German  Churcli 

“In  January,  1917,  we  delivered  200  Armenian 
New  Testaments,  and  in  February  of  the  following 
year  500  more,  to  the  Rev.  Count  Luttichau,  pastor 
of  the  German  Church  in  Pera  and  chaplain  of  the 
German  Embassy.  These  were  wanted  for  free  dis¬ 
tribution  among  Russian  prisoners  of  Armenian 
origin  interned  in  Germany.  The  following  is  a 
translation  of  the  German  report  by  Pastor  Luttiehau : 

“  ‘  Report  on  the  benefit  bestowed  by  the  Armenian 
New  Testaments  on  Russian  prisoners  of 
Armenian  speech  and  Armenian  creed,  in 
Germany. 

“  ‘Rendered  by  Head-Master  Sommer,  at  Uchten- 
hagen,  Mark.  March,  1918. 

“  ‘We  heartily  thank  the  American  Bible  Society 
for  enabling  us  to  hand  to  Armenian  prisoners  the 
Word  of  God,  toward  which  so  great  a  craving  was 
existing  among  them.  A  portion  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ments  was  distributed  at  the  time  of  my  personal 
visits.  To  prisoners  at  places  where  I  could  not  go, 
the  books  were  sent  by  post,  or  by  care  of  the  pastors 
who  were  appointed  over  the  prisoners  by  the  ec¬ 
clesiastical  authorities. 

“  ‘During  our  prayer  and  conversation  about 
God’s  love  their  countenances  brightened  up  every 
now  and  then.  “Now  we  know,”  they  said,  “that 
there  is  somebody  here  who  is  thinking  of  us.  What 
you  have  brought  us  with  God’s  Word  is  much  more 
important  and  valuable  than  any  material  assistance.” 
I  went  twice  to  another  small  band  of  prisoners. 
After  my  first  visit  I  sent  them  some  Armenian  New 
'restamen  ts.’ 


120 


LEVANT 

Printing 

“No  new  printing  was  done  at  Constantinople  after 
Dr.  Bowen  left  for  Switzerland,  in  February,  1916. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  same  year  a  Bible  and  a  New 
Testament  in  the  Arabic  language  were  printed  at 
Beirut.  These  two  editions  were  the  last  that  were 
jorinted  by  the  Agency. 

Binding  and  Purchase  of  Scriptures 

“Owing  to  the  extremely  high  prices,  we  were 
obliged  to  confine  our  binding  and  purchases  to  books 
which  were  in  actual  demand.  During  the  three 
years  1916-1918,  the  great  majority  of  the  Scriptures 
that  were  bound  or  purchased  by  the  Agency  were 
in  the  Bulgarian  language  and  were  forwarded  to 
Bulgaria.  ’’ 

Imprisoned  and  Exiled  for  Distributing 
the  Scriptures 

In  his  report,  Mr.  Peet  gives  the  following  worthy 
tribute  concerning  the  colporteurs  during  the  years 
of  war: 

'  ‘  Our  colporteurs  of  Constantinople  have  both  had 
their  share  in  difficulties  and  unjustifiable  interference 
with  their  work. 

“It  was  gratifying  to  see  how  faithfully  these  men 
went  on  with  their  labor  in  the  midst  of  so  many  dif¬ 
ficulties.  They  had  a  report  of  sales  to  send  us  at  the 
end  of  each  month,  and  though  their  distribution  fell 
far  short  of  what  they  had  done  in  days  of  prosperity, 
the  sales  which  they  succeeded  in  making  are  a  testi¬ 
mony  to  their  faithfulness  and  energy.  We  are  not 
yet  informed  whether  or  not  the  work  of  our  pro¬ 
vincial  colporteurs  was  hindered  by  government 
officials,  for  it  would  be  unwise  to  write  about  such 
incidents  while  the  Young  Turks’  terrorizing  methods 
were  still  in  force. 


LEVANT 


121 


“One  of  them,  however,  reports  as  follows: 

“  ‘During  my  work  in  the  eity  of  Constantinoi)Ic, 
1  had  the  pleasure  to  meet  many  people  favorably 
inclined  toward  the  Bible.  I  sold  a  good  many 
copies  of  pocket  New  Testaments  to  Greek  and  Ar¬ 
menian  soldiers  of  the  Turkish  army.  Last  summer 
I  met  with  a  disagreeable  adventure  during  a  visit 
I  made  to  Kemer  Bourgaz,  a  village  lying  a  few  miles 
to  the  north  of  Constantinople.  At  the  outskirts 
of  the  village  I  sold  a  few  portions  to  Moslem  soldiers. 
Presently  I  was  arrested  and  cross-examined  on  the 
charge  of  selling  to  Mohammedans  books  which  were 
good  to  Christians  only,  with  the  purpose  of  winning 
them  over  to  Protestantism.  I  was  kept  in  a  filthy 
prison  there  during  two  days  and  was  then  sent  to 
Constantinople  under  eseort,  in  eompany  with  a  man 
who  was  aeeused  of  thieving.  After  being  imprisoned 
in  Constantinople  for  one  or  two  days  I  was  allowed 
to  go,  but  only  after  I  had  proved  that  my  business 
was  permitted  under  the  existing  laws.  ’ 

“Our  seeond  eolporteur  in  Constantinople  reports: 

“  ‘  It  was  in  April,  1915,  that  I  happened  to  be  on  a 
Bosphorus  steamer,  when  a  Turkish  offieer  asked  what 
the  books  I  was  selling  were.  I  showed  hiin  a  Turk¬ 
ish  Bible,  and  on  examining  it  he  was  irritated  at 
seeing  on  the  title-page  a  notiee  that  the  book  was 
printed  at  the  expense  of  the  Ameriean  and  British 
Bible  Soeieties.  For  it  was  during  those  days  that 
the  fight  in  the  Dardanelles  was  at  its  height.  On 
disembarking  from  the  steamer  the  offieer  had  me 
arrested  by  a  polieeman.  I  was  thrown  into  prison 
and  some  days  later  was  exiled  to  the  interior  of  Asia 
Minor,  with  a  number  of  Armenian  gentlemen  who 
had  also  been  arrested  on  various  pretexts.  It  was 
only  through  the  energetic  intervention  of  Dr.  Bowen 
and  of  Mr.  Morgenthau,  the  Ameriean  Ambassador, 
that  I  was  allowed  to  return  to  Constantinople,  after 
an  exile  of  more  than  three  months.  ’ 


122 


LEVANT 

Sales  Increase  in  War  Time 

“The  distribution  from  the  Society’s  central  de- 
])()sitory  at  the  Bil)le  House  of  ('onstautinople  lias 
l'>eeu  during  tlie  war  ygars  (‘onsid('rably  higher  tlian 
il.  was  in  normal  times.  It  would  ha\’e  been  still 
higher  had  our  stock  been  better  suiijilied.  1'he  years 
1917  and  1918  were  especially  marked  for  large  sales 
from  our  depository,  despite  the  fact  that  our  selling 
prices  were  increased.  It  was  particularly  interesting 
to  see  soldiers  who  insisted  upon  paying  for  the  books 
they  wanted,  although  we  told  them  that  they  might 
have  them  free. 

The  Work  in  Bulilaria 

“It  is  very  unfortunate  that  we  have  no  report  to 
present  from  the  Rev.  M.  N.  Popoff,  the  Society’s 
able  sub-Agent  in  Sofia.  A  description  from  his  own 
pen  of  the  work  in  Bulgaria  would  doubtless  be  highly 
interesting.  Our  correspondence  with  Mr.  Popoff, 
though  often  interrupted  during  the  previous  two 
years,  was  tolerably  regular  in  1918  until  the  end  of 
September,  when  the  armistice  was  concluded  and 
all  communication  between  this  country  and  Bul¬ 
garia  was  suspended.  His  letters  to  us  were  neces¬ 
sarily  concise;  but  the  reports  he  sent  in  from  month 
to  month  sufficed  to  give  an  idea  of  the  splendid  work 
that  was  carried  on  in  Bulgaria. 

“During  the  time  from  January  to  September  two 
colporteurs  were  working  in  Bulgaria,  while  depository 
distribution  was  carried  on  in  three  centers:  Sofia, 
Philippopolis,  and  Yambol.  The  unsettled  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  territories  acquired  by  Bulgaria  after  the 
Balkan  war,  and  the  quick  succession  of  the  general 
war,  did  not  allow  the  extension  of  Bible  work  to 
those  new  territories.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
with  the  final  establishment  of  peace,  Bible  work  in 
Bulgaria  is  destined  to  be  a  success.” 


123 


l.EVANT 

Etfypt  and  Syria 

I'liv  Rev.  Mikhail  Bakhit,  of  Alexandria,  was  in- 
(lefatiK^il )U'  in  labors  in  h^gypt,. 

We  eeased  to  hear  from  oni*  vSyrian  snb-Ageney 
after  h\d)i'nary,  lbl7.  Mr.  A.  liana,  the  vSoeiety’s 
sub-Agent  in  Beirut,  on  eoining  to  Constantinople 
about  a  year  ago  informed  us  that  no  binding  or 
printing  was  done  there  for  the  present.  Only  the 
Society’s  depository  was  open  for  sales. 

The  following  particulars  of  the  work  in  Egypt 
are  full  of  encouragement  and  illustrate  how  faith¬ 
fully  the  colporteurs  have  labored  despite  their 
trials : 

Distribution 

“In  spite  of  the  many  hardships  and  hindrances 
mentioned  above,  our  distribution  for  the  year  1918, 
including  Bibles,  Testaments,  and  portions,  has  been 
30,739  volumes,  or  an  increase,  as  compared  with 
last  year,  of  3,592  volumes.  This  is  an  increase  far 
exceeding  our  expectation,  and  due  (humanly  speak¬ 
ing)  to  unusual  opportunities  that  came  to  us  during 
the  year.  We  pray  that  God  may  give  us  more  of 
these  opportunities,  so  that  there  may  be  an  ever- 
increasing  distribution  of  his  truth  among  the  people. 

“Our  circulation  for  the  year  1918  was  v30,739. 

“We  have  18  colporteurs,  17  of  whom  worked  the 
entire  year,  while  the  other  worked  10  months  and 
then  left  the  Bible  work  because  his  salary  was  not 
enough  to  supply  his  family’s  needs. 

“The  colporteurs  spent  in  service  6,505  days, 
traveled  20,486  miles,  and  visited  780  towns  and 
villages.  ’’ 

Striking  Testimony  of  a  Moslem  Regarding 

the  Bible 

“Our  colporteur  in  Neg  Hamada  says: 

“  ‘Wlhle  I  was  working  in  the  station  of  Deshna, 
Ali  Bey  Budran,  the  engineer  of  the  Irrigation  Oe- 


SIAM 


124 

partment,  and  AH  Bey  Mabfonz,  the  judge  of  the 
court,  met  me.  f  did  not  know  them,  but  they  saw 
my  l)ooks,  and  the  first  Bey,  seeing  a  gilt-edged 
Arabic  Bible,  said:  “1  wish  to  take  this  book  be¬ 
cause  it  has  a  good,  binding,  and  not  for  its  words.” 
I  answered  him,  saying,  “  If  you  wish  to  take  the  book 
only  for  its  cover,  and  not  for  its  good  words,  I 
will  not  give  it  to  you.”  I  understood  from  his 
words  that  he  wished  to  mock  the  Bible.  While  we 
were  talking  the  train  came,  and  he  left  me  and  took 
it.  After  the  train  had  started  the  second  Bey  came 
to  me  and  bought  the  Bible,  saying,  “Do  not  be 
angry  because  of  the  Bey’s  words;  we  know  that  the 
Bible  is  the  book  of  God,  and  we  respect  it.”  ’ 

Conclusion 

“The  Bible  Society’s  mission  in  these  lands  is 
assuming  a  far  greater  importance  than  it  has  had  in 
the  past.  By  disseminating  God’s  Word  among  the 
nations  of  the  East  it  will  assist  them  in  achieving 
their  religious  reforms.  The  Bible  will  be  one  of  the 
greatest  factors  in  the  regeneration  of  the  nations  of 
the  East.  ” 


Siam 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  Robert  Irwin 
426  Pramuen  Road,  Bangkok,  Siam 

Established  1890.  Circulation  in  1918,  147,352  volumes.  Aggregate  cir¬ 
culation  since  1890,  1,719,890  volumes. 

The  work  of  Scripture  distribution  in  this  Agency 
during  1918  was  most  encouraging.  It  is  the  only 
Foreign  Agency  reporting  a  growth  in  the  circulation, 
which  amounted  to  147,352  volumes  as  against 
102,529  in  1917 — an  increase  of  44,823.  This  credit¬ 
able  increase  was  almost  entirely  in  portions,  as  the 
following  table  shows.  The  circulation  of  Bibles  and 
Testaments  was  very  small. 


SIAM 


125 

Comparison  of  Circulation  for  1917  and  1918 


For  1918 . 

For  1917 . 

Bibles 

.  49 

.  51 

Test’s 

586 

539 

Portions 

146,717 

101,939 

Total 

147,352 

102,529 

Increase  over  1917 . 

.  —2 

+47 

+44,778 

+44,823 

Another  item  of  interest  is  that  the  donations,  or 
gratuitous  distribution  by  colporteurs,  were  nearly 
double  the  sales.  In  China  very  little  free  distribu¬ 
tion  is  reported. 

The  colporteurs  are  pioneer  missionaries  scattering 
the  seed  of  the  Word  widely  in  the  form  of  portions 
of  the  Scriptures  which  consist  of  at  least  a  Gospel  or 
some  other  complete  book  of  the  Bible.  The  sub¬ 
joined  paragraph  gives  particulars  of  the  circulation. 

Of  the  portions  distributed  34,452  were  Gospels; 
27,724  the  book  of  James;  22,441  Jonah;  20,589  Ruth; 
14,079  Epistles  of  John;  5,126  Genesis,  etc.  Most  of 
the  books  were  in  the  Siamese  and  Laos  languages,  a 
considerable  number  in  Chinese,  and  fewer  in  five  other 
tongues.  Forty-five  colporteurs  and  sixteen  helpers 
have  assisted  in  this  work.  The  attempt  was  made 
this  year  in  the  Chiengmai  field  to  cover  completely 
every  part  of  it  with  the  Scriptures.  This  intensive 
method  is  working  satisfactorily. 

The  following  quotations  from  Mr.  Irwin’s  long 
and  enlightening  report  for  1918  illustrate  the  various 
forms  of  activity  and  give  a  few  of  the  many  instances 
of  work  done  during  1918.  We  read : 

What  Has  Been  Done — Distribution 

“All  other  work  is  subservient  to  that  of  distribu¬ 
tion.  The  colporteur  is  our  important  man.  A 
force  averaging  twenty-five  a  month  has  traveled 
along  the  highways  and  bypaths,  through  jungles  and 
over  mountains,  in  rain  and  shine,  visiting  populous 
cities  and  lonely  huts,  scattering  the  leaves  that  are 
for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  Real  heroes  some  of 
them  are,  though  none  of  them  knows  it. 


126 


SIAM 


“It  is  a  pleasure  to  record  the  help  Dr.  Barnes,  of 
the  Rockefeller  Research  Foundation,  has  given  us 
both  in  the  distribution  of  Scriptures  and  evangelistic 
work. 

The  “Silent  Missionary”  Wins  Adherents 

“Mr.  Callender,  of  Prae,  writes:  ‘Elder  Noi  Ka 
made  a  trip  to  the  Yao  people,  and  had  a  very  inter¬ 
esting  time.  The  Yaos  there  got  hold  of  a  book  of 
Genesis  which  came  from  the  Yaos  in  the  hills  of 
Nan,  where  I  went  before;  they  had  left  off  their  spirit 
worship,  taken  Jehovah  for  their  God,  and  built  a 
house  for  him  to  dwell  in  and  to  him  they  offer  in¬ 
cense.  ’ 

“The  Rev.  H.  S.  Vincent  tells  of  a  man  who  came 
from  an  out-village,  inquiring  for  the  church.  He  had 
had  a  book  of  Scripture  and,  following  its  teachings, 
wanted  to  know  more  perfectly  the  way  of  life. 
He  was  received  and  since  that  time  has  led  almost 
his  entire  village  to  a  live  interest  in  Christian  truths. 
He  has  not  been  employed  by  the  Mission,  but  gives 
his  time  freely. 

Agency  Secretary’s  Work 

“The  Secretary’s  work  is  of  a  variable  nature. 
The  special  feature  this  year  was  a  trip  into  China, 
fifteen  days  north  of  Chiengrai,  to  visit  the  new  sta¬ 
tion  of  the  North  Siam  Mission  and  get  distribution 
started  there.  It  is  the  second  time  I  have  been  to 
that  part  of  the  field,  and  it  is  full  of  interest.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Mason,  who  had  been  there  only  three 
months,  were  busy  in  all  that  pertains  to  pioneer 
life.  They  have  good  hope  of  reaching  a  large  popu¬ 
lation  of  Tai  in  and  around  Chiengrung. 

“Over  three-quarters  of  the  year  was  spent  on  a 
4,517-mile  road,  and  in  the  stations  of  four  missions 
outside  of  Bangkok.  Only  two  stations  were  not 
visited  ,  the  two  on  the  peninsula.  ’’ 


SIAM 


127 

The  Importance  of  Trainintf  Colporteurs  and  Others 

A  subject  to  which  Mr.  Irwin  has  devoted  much 
time,  thought  and  effort  in  past  years,  is  the  best  way 
and  method  of  training  colporteurs  for  their  work. 
Courses  of  study  were  evolved  after  much  corre¬ 
spondence  and  careful  deliberation.  During  1918 
classes  were  conducted  in  8  centers  with  an  attendance 
of  from  6  to  200,  averaging  8  days.  Mr.  Irwin 
well  says: 

“A  world- wide  correspondence  to  find  some  simple 
lessons  for  this  purpose  failed  to  bring  them,  and 
there  was  nothing  for  it,  if  we  were  to  do  this  work, 
but  to  make  them.  After  several  trials,  and  a  ton 
of  paper,  we  have  settled  down  to  the  preparation  of 
a  series  based  on  ‘Co-operation  with  God,’  This 
general  course  is  outlined  and  the  first  set  of  eight 
lessons  on  ‘Prayer’  completed.  They  are  now  being 
printed  in  English  and  Laos,  and  will  soon  be  put  into 
Siamese  and  Chinese. 

“Passing  through  Lampoon,  a  pick-up  class  was 
collected  by  Mr.  Freeman,  and  after  crowding  seven 
lessons  into  three  days  an  examination  was  held  in 
the  shape  of  actual  distribution  to  one  another. 
Born  actors,  they  entered  into  the  exercise  with  all 
their  hearts.  ‘Still,’  as  Noi  Kam  admitted,  ‘it  was 
hard  work.  ’  This  classwork  is  strenuous,  but  ex¬ 
hilarating. 

A  Night  Volunteer  Class 

“Twenty-five  employees  of  the  Lakawn  tannery 
asked  for  a  class  and  attended  in  the  night. 

“A  conference  is  usually  held  in  connection  with 
the  class.  There  were  fewer  of  these  this  year 
than  usual,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  the  pan¬ 
demic  of  influenza.  During  the  year  we  conducted 
classes  in  eight  centers,  with  an  attendance  of  from 
six  persons  to  two  hundred,  averaging  eight  days. 
There  are  some  visible  results.  For  instance,  shortlv 
after  leaving  Prae,  Mr.  Callender  wrote  that  Noi  Ka, 


128 


SIAM 


AT  WORK  FOR  A  KAMU  VERSION 

following  instructions,  was  making  a  house-to-house 
canvass  of  his  district.” 

Translation  and  Revision  of  the  Scriptures 

An  important  phase  of  the  work  in  the  Siam  Ageney 
is  to  assist  in  and  faeilitate  the  revision  of  tentative 
translations  of  the  Seriptures  and  to  eneourage  and 
promote  the  rendering  of  the  Bible,  in  part  at  first, 
into  new  languages  as  the  work  of  evangelization  ex¬ 
tends  among  hitherto  unreached  peoples.  There  are 
many  tribes  in  this  field  that  have  no  written  lan¬ 
guage,  as  the  next  paragraph  shows,  and  to  provide 
the  gospel  for  such  means  time,  patience,  and  scholar¬ 
ship,  coupled  with  much  prayer  and  expense.  What 
was  accomplished  in  1918  is  thus  stated  by  Mr.  Irwin; 


SIAM 


129 

“Mr.  Hanna  and  his  helpers  are  at  work  on  the 
Gospel  of  Mark  in  two  languages.  As  soon  as  a 
sample  of  his  Lahu  Mark  reaehes  Chiengrai  we  will 
test  it  on  the  Musso  Christians  there.  Mrs.  Crooks 
has  made  the  beginning  of  the  New  Testament  in 
Kamu  and  the  Epistle  of  Peter  is  being  used  with  good 
effect  among  the  Kamu  in  North  Siam. 

“In  the  matter  of  the  translation  of  Scriptures  the 
Rev.  A.  C.  Hanna  and  Po  Tun,  a  scholarly  Karen 
helper,  are  at  work  on  the  translation  of  Mark  for  the 
Kaw  and  the  Lahu,  illiterate  mountain  tribes.  There 
are  school  text-books  and  a  hymnal  in  Lahu,  but  no 
Scriptures  yet  in  either  language. 

“We  have  to  thank  the  Rev.  G.  Porteous,  of  the 
China  Inland  Mission  at  Sapushan,  for  sample  copies 
in  the  Pollard  script  of  Lisu,  Laka,  Kopu,  and  Hwa 
Miao  (or,  as  we  say  here,  Maao  or  Meo)  and  key  to 
its  use.  We  may  be  able  to  adapt  it  to  our  mountain 
people,  but  have  not  had  time  to  do  anything  with  it 
yet. 

“The  Scripture  Revision  Committee  of  the  South 
Siam  Mission  has  comipleted  the  revision  of  Psalms 
in  Siamese. 

“The  North  Siam  Scripture  Committee  spent  two 
weeks  on  the  revision  of  Proverbs  in  the  Laos  dialect, 
and  completed  half  the  book.  It  was  translated 
several  years  ago  by  Dr.  Howard  Campbell,  but  not 
yet  printed. 

“A  second  edition  of  the  Kamu  Peter  has  had  to  be 
put  out  without  revision.  “ 

Tai — “The  Free” — A  Scattered  Mighty  People 

Mr.  Irwin  has  very  much  on  his  heart  the  Tai 
people,  “scattered  among  four  nations,”  with  “relics 
of  a  departed  glory  still  clinging  to  them.”  They 
have  no  written  language  and  very  little  work  is 
being  done  among  them,  yet  they  are  approachable 
and  might  be  won  for  the  kingdom  of  (dirist  in  large 


SIAM 


1 M) 

luunbers  if  God’s  people  would  rise  to  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  and  respond  to  the  call  of  need. 

Similarly,  there  are  many  mountain  tribes  akin 
to  the  Tai  without  written  languages,  for  whom 
vScripture  and  evangelistic  work  ought  to  be  rapidly 
developed.  May  the  following  earnest  words  of  Mr. 
Invin  strike  a  responsive  chord  in  the  hearts  of  some 
of  God’s  stewards  and  influence  them  to  supply  the 
means  for  providing  these  untouched  millions  with 
the  Word  of  Life!  He  says: 

What  Remains  to  Be  Done— the  Field 

“The  field:  it  is  bigger  than  we  thought,  even  two 
years  ago.  It  used  to  be  Siam,  then  we  found  the 
Tai  in  the  Shan  states  and  Sip  Sawng  Punna;  then 
in  southern  China  and  across  the  Me  Kawng,  in 
French  territory.  Now  Dr.  Dodd  and  the  China 
Council  find  them  in  at  least  four  provinces  of  south 
China,  estimating  that  there  are  five  millions  of  them 
there.  But  while  I  was  in  Kengtung  last  spring  Mr. 
Hanna  quoted  a  missionary  in  China  as  putting  them 
at  ‘forty  millions  Tai  in  China.’ 

“  In  the  British  Shan  states  the  North  Siam  Mission 
has  a  small  work  a  few  miles  wide  along  the  Me 
Kawng  River,  among  the  Tai.  The  American  Bap¬ 
tist  Mission  has  a  large  work  among  the  mountain 
people  of  three  tribes,  with  a  center  at  Kengtung,  the 
capital.  They  do  not  pretend  to  work  for  the  Tai, 
so  that  less  than  a  sixth  of  the  Tai  people  in  Keng¬ 
tung  State  have  the  chance  to  hear  the  gospel.  By 
arrangement  of  the  two  Mission  Boards  in  America 
the  Presbyterian  missionaries  are  excluded  from  five- 
sixths  of  the  Tai  people  in  that  country,  and  no  other 
provision  is  made  for  them.  In  China  there  is  just 
the  beginning  of  evangelistic  work  among  the  un¬ 
known  millions  of  Tai,  and  in  French  Cochin  China 
there  are  two  families  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
country,  while  the  French  government  forbids  mis^ 


SIAM 


131 

sioii  work  in  the  northern  states.  Is  it  not  evident 
lliat  ‘there  remains  yet  very  much  land  to  be 
jiossessed?’  Here  is  a  mighty  people,  scattered 
among  four  nations,  relics  of  a  departed  glory  still 
clinging  to  them  and  showing  in  their  name,  Tai,  the 
Free.  Surely,  it  is  worth  while  to  give  them  the 
gospel  and  to  expect  that  in  course  of  time  they  will 
become  an  evangelizing  force  to  others.  The  call  of 
the  Tai  is  loud  and  insistent  from  the  east  and  farther 
east,  from  the  north  and  ever  farther  north,  and  we 
have  not  the  men  to  send,  men  filled  with  the  Spirit, 
men  in  love  with  their  work,  men  who  can  be  trusted. 
Only  training  will  give  us  such  men. 

Mountain  Tribes,  Letfion  in  Number 

“Scattered  all  through  the  Tai,  mostly  in  the 
mountains,  and  little  known,  are  the  so-called  moun¬ 
tain  tribes,  legion  in  number  and  polyglot  in  speech. 

“Parts  of  some  ten  tribes  are  touched,  while  a 
multitude  of  them  have  never  heard  the  Story.  So 
far  as  they  are  known  they  are  susceptible  to  the 
gospel.  The  great  new  life  that  has  awakened  all 
nations  to  new  vigor  is  beginning  to  reach  even  these 
remote  mountaineers ;  universal  ideas  are  forming 
within  their  brains;  and  they  are  wondering.  Now  is 
the  psychological  moment  for  the  missionary.  The 
chances  are  greatly  in  favor  of  sweeping  them  into  the 
Kingdom  now.  A  few  years  hence  may  be  too  late. 

“To  proceed  in  a  systematic  way,  one  of  the  first 
things  would  be  to  find  out  and  tabulate  the  languages 
and  dialects.  Many  of  them  may  be  identical,  or  so 
akin  that  the  same  Scriptures  could  be  used  for 
different  tribes.  In  the  meantime,  while  we  are  wait¬ 
ing  for  that  genius  in  language  who  may  never  ap¬ 
pear,  let  each  one  in  any  way  connected  with  these 
tribes  hoard  every  scrap  of  information  and  expression 
and  try  to  link  it  with  other  information,  pass  it  on 
to  those  interested  in  the  problem,  and  do  what  he 
cfin  to  reduce  the  language  to  writing. 


China 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  John  R.-11ykes,  D.U. 

73  Szecliuen  Road,  Shanghai,  China 

Established  1876.  Circulation  in  1918,  1,034,309  volumes.  Ajjgregale  circu¬ 
lation  since  1876,  25,714,660  volumes. 

Pitiful  indeed  are  the  reports  of  Dr.  Hykes,  the 
Agency  Secretary  for  China,  and  his  five  sub-Agency 
Secretaries.  The  scarcity  of  Scriptures  and  the  ap¬ 
pealing  requests  for  even  the  Gospels- — if  not  the  Bible 
or  New  Testament — have  combined  to  make  the 
year  1918  one  of  the  most  trying  and  depressing  since 
the  organization  of  the  extensive  work  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Bible  Society  in  China.  There  has  been  a  veri¬ 
table  famine  of  the  Word,  due  to  a  multiplication  of 
causes,  thus  briefly  stated  by  Dr.  Hykes: 

Disastrous  Retrenchments 

“The  year  has  been  full  of  worries.  Aside  from 
the  troubles  growing  out  of  the  revolution,  particu¬ 
larly  in  Hunan  and  Szechuan,  we  were  often  at  our 
wits’  end  to  know  how  best  to  adjust  the  work  to 
inadequate  funds.  While  our  appropriation  was  the 
same  as  for  1917,  it  realized  twenty-one  per  cent  less 
in  local  currency — thus  reducing  the  money  available 
for  our  work  by  that  amount.  Besides,  the  cost  of 
printing  was  steadily  rising.  We  had  reduced  our 
staff  of  foreign  superintendents  from  ten  to  six,  and 
dismissed  all  salaried  colporteurs ;  but  during  the 
year  we  had  to  devise  some  way  of  further  curtailing 
our  expenses  to  meet  the  Mex.  $13,000  less  realized 
by  our  drafts.  Further  retrenchment  could  only  be 
effected  b}^  cutting  down  the  manufactures.  In  1917 
they  had  been  reduced  nearly  400,000  over  1916. 
This  year  the  reduction  over  last  was  more  than 
600,000;  and  it  is  significant,  as  showing  the  straits  we 
were  in,  that  we  were  only  able  to  manufacture  vSOO 
Ih'bles  and  1,000  New  Testaments,  as  against  3,000 


CHINA 


133 

Billies  and  41,700  Testaments  in  1917.  Tn  order 
to  su])|)ly  tlie  j^reatest  ninnl)er  of  se])arate  (lospels 
vve  only  ])rinted  the  cl]ea])est  editions,  in  small  type. 
It  follows  that  our  circulation  Wcas  correspondingly 
smaller.  ’  ’ 

How  desperate  were  the  straits  and  drastic  the 
retrenchments,  for  want  of  the  necessary  funds ! 
Imagine  cutting  down  the  superintendents  from 
ten  to  six,  and  dismissing  all  salaried  colporteurs! 
Think  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  eager  China¬ 
men  hungry  for  God’s  Word  and  not  able  to  secure 
even  a  Gospel  portion!  Would  that  all  God’s  people 
could  feel  China’s  needs  as  Dr.  Hykes  and  his  loyal 
co-workers  feel  them!  There  would  then  be  no  lack 
of  money,  but  gifts  would  flood  the  treasury  of  the 
Society  at  the  Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  New  York 
City.  Peruse  with  prayer,  dear  reader,  this  brief 
story  of  the  Bible  famine  in  China,  pass  it  on  to  others, 
and  secure  generous  contributions  for  the  work,  so 
as  to  help  supply  the  hungering  multitudes  in  China 
with  the  Bread  of  Life. 

The  Circulation 

vSo  far  as  figures  show  results,  there  was  a  total 
circulation  of  1,034,309  volumes  in  17  languages, 
7,379  being  Bibles,  vSl,747  Testaments,  and  995,183 
portions — a  decrease  of  455,271,  as  compared  with 

1917,  and  less  by  1,240,401  volumes  in  the  Centennial 
year,  when  the  distribution  reached  the  magnificent 
total  of  2,274,710.  Had  there  been  books  available 
and  workers  to  distribute  them,  this  high-water 
mark  would  probably  have  been  surpassed  during 

1918.  The  nrrmber  of  workers  was  only  394  as  against 
709  in  1917.  In  place  of  the  salaried  colporteurs,  God 
raised  up  a  large  force  of  voluntary  colporteurs,  by 
means  of  whom  most  of  the  distribution  in  1918  was 
accomplished.  Dr.  Hykes  writes: 


134 


CHINA 


Distribution  by  Correspondents 

“Our  ('irculation  would  have  had  a  very  sorry 
showing  had  it  not  been  for  the  faithful  co-operation 
of  our  correspondents,  both  foreign  and  Chinese. 
They  distributed  920,120  copies  out  of  a  total  of 
1,033,330  sold.  Practically  all  the  distribution  under 
this  head  is  to  be  credited  to  voluntary  workers,  who 
receive  no  salary  for  their  services.  The  subsidized 
workers  are  very  few,  and  they  are  employed  under 
the  most  exceptional  circumstances.  Voluntary  col¬ 
porteurs  only  receive  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of 
Scripture  portions  (most  of  which  sell  at  one-half 
cent  per  copy),  as  a  contribution  toward  traveling 
and  distribution  expenses.  It  will  thus  be  .seen  that 
the  only  outlay  the  Society  bears  is  the  cost  of  print¬ 
ing  the  books.  The  circulation  could  have  been  in¬ 
creased  by  the  number  of  additional  books  had  we  the 
money  to  manufacture  them. 

“The  distribution  under  this  head  includes  155,600 
copies,  circulated  by  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Blackstone  for  the 
‘  Milton  Stewart  Evangelistic  Fund.  ’  ” 

Translation  and  Revision 

Much  thought  and  attention  has  to  be  given  by 
Dr.  Hykes  and  his  advisers  to  the  careful  revision  of 
existing  versions  of  the  Scripture  and  to  their  trans¬ 
lation  into  new  dialects.  Few  realize  the  amount 
of  time  and  thought,  and  study  this  form  of  missionary 
effort  entails.  Think  of  the  late  Dr.  Wherry,  whom 
Dr.  Hykes  describes  as  “a  man  of  marked  literary 
taste  and  ability,  and  one  of  the  best  scholars  of 
Wenli  in  China,  ”  spending  seventeen  years  on  revision 
of  the  New  Testament  and  eleven  on  translation  of 
the  Old — a  total  of  twenty-eight  years! 

The  “Union”  Bible — Wenli  Version 

Dr.  Flykes  says: 

“  During  the  year  Dr.  Wherry  completed  the  check- 


CHINA 


135 

ing  of  the  unification  of  the  proper  names  in  the  Old 
Testament  with  the  Mandarin  Version,  and  read  the 
proofs  of  the  Old  Testament  as  it  was  passing  through 
the  press.  He  had  seen  the  typesetting  completed 
and  the  stereos  made,  when,  on  the  29th  of  December, 
he  passed  to  his  reward.  Dr.  Wlierry  was  one  of  the 
original  company  of  revisers  which  completed  the 
High  Wenli  Version  of  the  New  Testament,  the  plans 
for  the  production  of  which  were  inaugurated  by  the 
Missionary  Conference  of  1890.  The  Committee’s 
Version  was  completed,  printed  tentatively  by  the 
three  Bible  Societies,  and  presented  to  the  Mission¬ 
ary  Conference  of  1907.  This  body  decided  that 
instead  of  two  Wenli  Versions  of  the  Old  Testament, 
as  provided  for  in  1890,  there  should  be  only  one;  and 
Dr.  Wherry  was  elected  as  one  of  the  translators.  He 
spent  seventeen  years  on  the  revision  of  the  New  Tes¬ 
tament  and  eleven  more  on  the  translation  of  the 
Old — a  total  of  twenty-eight  years.  These  two  will  be 
bound  together  as  the  Standard  Version  of  the  Bible 
in  current  Wenli. 


Mandarin  Version 

“The  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  was  com¬ 
pleted  before  the  close  of  last  year,  and  an  edition  in 
No.  5  type  was  put  to  press.  Mr.  Bailer  very  kindly 
undertook  the  reading  of  the  proofs  and  came  to 
Shanghai  for  that  purpose. 

“When  the  work  of  revising  the  Old  Testament  was 
approaching  completion  Dr.  Goodrich,  Mr.  Bailer, 
and  Dr.  Lewis  were  asked  to  edit  the  text  of  the  New 
Testament. 


Distribution  by  Colporteurs 

“  The  sales  under  this  caption  have  been  practically 
all  made  by  the  superintendents  in  charge  of  the  sub- 
Agencies  into  which  the  field  has  been  divided.  The 
only  native  colporteurs  they  have  had  under  their 


136 


CHINA 


THE  MANDARIN  REVISION  COMMITTEE 

care  are  two  supported  by  friends  independent  of  the 
Society.  The  title  of  these  erstwhile  ‘superintend¬ 
ents,  ’  or  ‘  sub-Agents,  ’  has  been  changed  to  ‘  sub- 
Agency  Secretaries,  ’  to  bring  it  in  harmony  with  the 
new  name  (‘Agency  Secretaries’)  selected  by  the 
Board  for  its  foreign  representatives,  hitherto  desig¬ 
nated  as  ‘  Agents.  ’  ’  ’ 

The  location  of  the  five  sub-Agency  Secretaries  and 
the  designation  of  these  respective  fields  are  as  follows : 

The  Rev.  W.  S.  Strong,  North  China  sub-Agency,  at  Peking. 

The  Rev.  J.  Johnson,  South  China  sub-Agency,  at  Canton. 

Mr.  Godfrey  Hirst,  Central  China  sub-Agency,  at  Hankow. 

The  Rev.  W.  C.  Hooker,  Eastern  Szechuan  sub-Agency,  at 
Chungking. 

The  Rev.  T.  Torrance,  Western  Szechuan  sub-Agency,  at 
Chengtu. 


CHINA 


137 


NORTH  CHINA,  SUB-AGENCY 
Suh-Agency  Secretary,  Rev.  W.  S.  Strong. 
Place  of  residence,  Peking. 


Table  of  Circulation 


Bibles 

Test’s 

Portions 

Total 

Sales  at  depository . . 

. 254 

827 

371,885 

372,966 

For  1917 . 

.  349 

2,931 

946 

4,226 

Total  sales . 

.  603 

3,758 

372,831 

377,192 

Donations . 

497 

144 

709 

Total  circulation  .... 

.  671 

4.255 

372,975 

377,901 

Mr.  Strong  had  a  heartbreaking  year.  To  see  the 
need  of  God’s  Word,  and  hear  daily  appeals  for  even 
portions  of  Scripture,  which  could  not  be  supplied, 
was  most  distressing  to  him. 

A  Scripture  Famine 

Mr.  Strong  presents  an  impressive  picture  of  the 
worst  Scripture  famine  he  has  ever  experienced.  He 
says: 

“During  the  past  year  we  have  been  seriously 
liandicapped  by  the  Agency  not  having  sufficient 
money  for  printing  Scriptures.  This  has  resulted 
in  a  Bible  famine.  For  the  last  three  months  I  have 
not  had  a  single  copy  of  the  Gospels  in  stock,  and 
the  current  sales  from  this  depot  have  been  limited  to 
Bibles  and  New  Testaments.  As  the  stock  in  the 
.  hands  of  correspondents  was  sold  out  the  number  of 
distribution  centers  diminished.  There  was  a  time, 
not  long  ago,  when  over  600,000  copies  of  the  Gospels 
were  distributed  in  nearly  three  hundred  centers. 
But  to-day  these  centers  have  dwindled  down  to  six; 
and  if  reports  from  all  of  these  had  reached  me  before 
the  closing  of  the  year’s  accounts  some  of 'them  would 
not  appear  in  the  list  of  unsold  stocks,  for  I  feel  sure 
that  there  are  Scriptures  in  only  two  of  the  six  places. 
Such  a  state  of  affairs  is  heartbreaking  to  a  Christian 
worker;  it  is  despairing  to  think  that  at  this  juncture. 


CHINA 


138 

the  most  opportune  time  in  the  history  of  our  Society 
in  China,  we  have  not  a  single  copy  of  the  Gospels — 
when  a  million  would  not  suffice  for  the  immediate 
demand ! 

The  Circulation 

“The  total  of  sales  for  the  year  was  only  377,901 
copies,  just  about  one-third  of  what  they  were  a  few 
years  ago.  If  the  Agency  could  have  met  the  de¬ 
mand  for  Scriptures  we  could  have  sold  considerably 
over  a  million,  by  supplying  the  normal  requirements. 
There  has  been  a  Scripture  famine.  The  preachers 
go  from  place  to  place  preaching  the  gospel,  but  they 
are  not  able  to  leave  with  the  hearers  the  written  Word 
of  God,  that  silent,  ever-present  missionary,  to  follow 
up  the  impressions  made  by  the  evangelist. 

Not  a  Single  Gospel  for  Sixty  Districts 

“Many  of  the  districts  which  were  formerly  sup¬ 
plied  from  this  depot  have  been  able  to  secure  Scrip¬ 
tures  from  the  other  two  Bible  Societies,  but  I  have 
on  my  list  some  sixty  districts  where  for  over  half 
a  year  they  have  not  had  a  single  copy  of  the  Gospels. 
I  have  had  Chinese  workers  in  the  depot  telling  me 
of  their  work  and  begging  for  Scriptures  as  hungry 
men  for  bread.  Again,  a  lady  just  about  leaving 
for  a  country  station  called  upon  me  a  few  weeks 
ago  and  begged  for  Scriptures,  but,  without  a  single 
copy  of  the  Gospels  in  stock,  I  could  give  her  nothing ! 
Almost  in  despair,  she  said,  ‘Is  it  worth  while  going 
without  them?’  The  fact  that  she  could  not  get 
them — that  her  most  important  weapon  of  warfare 
was  lacking — brought  tears  to  her  eyes.  I  did  my 
best,  later  on,  to  secure  some,  for  which  she  thanked 
me  as  if  they  had  meant  life  to  her;  and  certainly 
they  did  mean  life  to  her  work. 

Peking,  A  Great  Strategic  Student  Center 

“The  work  from  the  depot  has,  owing  to  the  lack  of 
l3ooks,  been  of  necessity  limited  to  Peking  city,  which, 


CHINA 


139 

after  all,  is  the  most  important  place  in  China.  We 
tliank  God  for  the  results  accomplished,  and  for 
l.lie  ever-increasing  opportunities  for  tlie  distribution 
of  Clod’s  Word,  albeit  we  have  not  been  able  to  take 
advantage  of  them.  In  proportion  as  the  light  of 
the  gospel  is  disseminated  in  this  city,  its  effects 
will  be  felt  throughout  the  republic.  All  other  cities 
are  more  or  less  provincial:  Peking  is  cosmopolitan. 
Besides,  it  is  the  greatest  educational  center  in  China. 
During  the  past  year  the  Mission  Union  University 
has  begun  its  work,  while  the  Rockefeller  Foundation 
Medical  School  has  just  been  moved  from  Tientsin 
to  this  city,  and  is  now  housed  in  its  new  buildings, 
near  our  Bible  House.  It  has  extensive  grounds 
and  residential  accommodations  for  eight  hundred 
students.  Students  flock  to  the  capital  from  all  parts 
of  China.  They  are  here  in  multitudes.  On  the  oc¬ 
casion  of  the  recent  Peace  Conference  they  paraded 
and  formed  a  procession  five  miles  long,  marching 
several  abreast.” 

SOUTH  CHINA  SUB-AGENCY 
Sub-Agency  Secretary,  Rev.  John  Johnson. 

Place  of  residence,  Canton. 


Table  of  Circulation 


Bibles 

Test’s 

Portions 

Total 

Sales  at  depository . 

. . . .  59 

738 

1,169 

1,966 

Sales  by  correspondents. . . . 

. . . .  644 

2,230 

10,060 

14,934 

Total  sales . 

....  703 

2,968 

13,229 

16,900 

Donations . 

2 

46 

48 

Total  circulation . 

....  703 

2,970 

13,275 

16,948 

The  paucity  of  funds,  lack  of  books,  'and  the  dis¬ 
charge  of  all  colporteurs,  combined  to  make  the  year 
1918  one  of  much  discouragement  to  Mr.  Johnson. 
Almost  all  of  the  sales  were  by  correspondents,  as 
the  table  shows.  Mr.  Strong’s  story  of  a  Bible 


CHINA 


140 

famine  in  North  China  is  repeated  by  Mr.  Johnson 
in  vSonth  China. 

Work  of  the  American  Bible  Society  Assumed  by 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 

Mr.  Johnson  was  placed  in  the  very  unenviable 
position  of  seeing  the  work  that  had  been  built  up 
in  this  sub-Agency  assumed  by  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  because  the  reduced  appropriations 
necessitated  the  dismissal  of  all  colporteurs.  Surely 
it  is  only  lack  of  knowledge  of  China’s  needs  that  has 
caused  God’s  people  in  America  to  withhold  the  neces¬ 
sary  funds  for  the  work  and  place  the  responsibility 
for  it  on  the  British  Society  during  the  years  of  war, 
when  Britain  was  carrying  so  much  greater  a  burden 
than  America !  Mr .  J ohnson  writes : 

“In  this  field  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 
through  its  numerous  colporteurs,  has  had  a  largely 
increased  sale  of  Scriptures — especially  of  portions. 
The  fact  is,  that  when  we  had  to  give  up  our  col- 
portage  in  this  field  it  was  to  a  considerable  extent 
taken  over  by  the  British  Society.  We  are  grateful 
that  the  funds  of  the  British  Society  have  enabled  it  to 
assume  the  double  burden  of  both  their  own  and  our 
share  of  the  colportage  work;  but,  while  this  is  so, 
the  sub-Agent  in  this  field  is  placed  in  a  very  un¬ 
enviable  position.  He  cannot  employ  colporteurs, 
nor  can  he  develop  a  voluntary  work;  for  to  do  the 
latter  in  a  field  where  paid  colportage  is  so  liberally 
and  extensively  used  would  involve  long  and  patient 
effort  as  well  as  extensive  travel.  The  latter  would 
be  expensive,  and  is  therefore  impossible  at  the  present 
time.  To  increase  the  demand  for  books  would  also 
be  folly,  for  the  demand  could  not  be  met.  We  men¬ 
tion  these  difficulties  not  because  they  are  peculiar 
to  this  sub-Agency — the  others  have  their  share — 
but  because  we  want  the  patrons  of  the  Society  in  the 
States  to  realize  our  position,  and  come  to  our  relief. 


CHINA 


141 

Urgent  Need  of  the  Message  of  Emancipation 

“For  two  years  or  more  we  liave  been  fervently 
lioping  and  praying  for  deliverance  from  this  erippling, 
dei)rcssing  financial  pressure;  longing  that  the  Ameri- 
ean  Bible  Society  may  liberally  contribute  its  quota 
toward  supplying  this  great  nation  with  the  ‘  Bread  of 
Life,’  as  with  such  lavish  generosity  the  American 
people  are  feeding  the  famishing  multitudes  of 
Europe.  Never  was  the  need  greater  than  now,  for 
never  before  have  the  people  realized  so  keenly  their 
need  of  deliverance  from  the  galling  shackles  of  po¬ 
litical,  social,  and  religious  bondage;  and  never  be¬ 
fore  have  they  been  so  able  to  appreciate  the  message 
of  emancipation  which  the  Bible  brings.  Education 
is  slowly  but  surely  spreading;  and  this,  together 
with  the  ever-widening,  enlightening,  and  elevating 
influences  of  Christianity,  is  giving  them  an  appetite 
for  that  truth  which  can  make  them,  as  it  has  made 
other  nations,  truly  great  and  free.” 

Conclusion 

Mr.  Johnson  concludes  his  report  with  these  earnest 
words :  “  Thus,  in  this  great  city,  though  we  cannot  do 
all  we  could  wish,  we  are  trying  to  do  all  we  can,  with 
the  limited  means  at  our  disposal,  for  the  circulation 
of  God’s  Word  and  the  inculcation  of  its  saving 
truths.  We  wait  and  work,  in  hope  of  the  dawning 
of  a  brighter  day.  ” 

CENTRAL  CHINA  SUB-AGENCY 

Sub-Agency  Secretary,  Mr.  Godfrey  Hirst. 

Place  of  residence,  Hankow. 

Table  of  Circulation 

Bibles  Test’s  Portions 

Sales  at  depository .  1,751  11,083  15,906 

Sales  ,  by  correspondents .  80  832  228,843 

Sales'by  colporteurs .  2,170 

Total  sales .  1,831  11,915  246,919  260,665 

Donations .  2  .  2 


Total 

28,740 

229,755 

2,170 


'I’otal  circulation 


1,833  11,915  246,919  260,667 


CHINA 


142 

In  this  section  of  China  there  was  much  disturl  )anee, 
due  to  the  strife  between  the  northern  and  southern 
factions  in  China.  Mr.  Hirst  says.: 

‘'During  the  year  the  strife  between  the  northern 
and  the  southern  factions  in  China  has  continued. 
This  has  resulted  in  great  misery  and  hardship  to 
the  people  of  the  affected  districts.  The  overthrow 
of  civil  authority  has  given  rise  to  bands  of  robbers 
who  formed  in  the  mountains  and  exploited  the  people 
unmercifully,  some  of  whom  were  carried  off  and  held 
for  ransom. 

“In  the  province  of  Hunan  the  suffering  has  been 
especially  severe.  Naturally,  with  all  this  unrest,  the 
work  of  evangelism  and  colportage  has  been  greatly 
hindered.  Conditions  have  been  such  that  the  wives  of 
missionaries  who  were  away  for  the  summer  were  not 
allowed  by  the  consuls  to  return  to  interior  places.  ” 

A  Famine  More  Disastrous  than  Lack  of  Food 

From  this  sub-Agency  also  comes  the  melancholy 
news  of  a  famine  of  the  Word.  Mr.  Hirst  writes: 

“The  story  of  the  work  in  the  Kiangsi  Province 
is  particularly  sad  to  Bible  lovers.  It  is  a  story  of 
famine — a  famine  more  disastrous  than  the  want  of 
food,  which  affects  the  body  alone.  It  has  been  a 
famine  of  the  Bread  of  Life,  which  nourishes  the 
souls  of  men.  The  Agency  was  unable,  through  lack 
of  funds,  to  supply  anything  like  the  demand  for 
the  Scriptures.  The  people  were  ready  to  buy  the 
Gospels,  but  we  did  not  have  them  to  offer.  In  some 
stations  the  stock  was  used  up  and  could  not  be  re¬ 
plenished.  The  limited  number  of  portions  enabled 
some  regular  itinerating  to  be  done,  also  a  limited 
work  among  hospital  patients.  Distribution  has 
been  continued  on  the  river  steamers  at  Kiukiang, 
where  quite  a  number  of  Gospels  have  been  sold. 
4^he  wide-reaching  influence  of  this  work  among 
travelers  is  immeasurable. 


CHINA 


14.^ 

“J"rom  the  far-distant  province  of  Kansuh  comes 
word  of  appreciation  and  testimony  from  evangelists 
to  the  great  help  the  Scriptures  are  in  their  work, 
and  requests  for  further  supplies  of  Gospels. 

“From  Honan  Province  the  reports  are  more  en¬ 
couraging,  for  with  the  exception  of  the  northwestern 
l^ortion  (bordering  on  Shensi)  being  unsafe,  the  whole 
lias  been  peaceful. 

“From  two  centers  on  the  east  border  the  hin¬ 
drances  have  been  plague  or  influenza;  and,  again, 
our  limited  supply  of  portions.” 

WEST  CHINA. — Eastern  Szechuan  Sub-Agency 

Sub-Agency  Secretary,  Rev.  W.  C.  Hooker, 

Place  of  residence,  Chungking. 

Table  of  Circulation 

Bibles  Test’s  Portions  Total 

Sales  at  depository .  350  2,798  3,961  7,109 

Sales  by  correspondents .  20  73,477  73,497 

Sales  by  colporteurs .  3,768  3,768 

Total  sales .  350  2,818  81,206  84,374 

In  this  section  of  the  great  Chinese  Empire  there 
has  been  considerable  disturbance  from  bold  highway 
robbers.  As  Mr.  Hooker  states : 

“The  robbers  have  been  more  lawless  than  ever 
in  the  outlying  districts.  For  more  than  four  months 
we  were  unable  to  get  books  down  from  the  Chengtu 
Press  because  robbers  were  holding  up  all  the  traffic. 
The  people  are  reaching  the  end  even  of  their  won¬ 
derful  patience,  and  the  local  militia  are  taking  matters 
into  their  own  hands,  executing  robbers  wherever 
they  can  catch  them;  because  of  this  the  routes  be¬ 
tween  here  and  Chengtu  are  more  open  than  they 
have  been  for  a  long  time.  There  has  also  been  much 
delay  in  getting  books  from  Shanghai.  No  steamers 
liave  been  allowed  to  run,  except  the  foreign-owned 
steamers  of  the  two  oil  companies.” 


144  CHINA 

Books-  Books— Books  :  A  Veritable  Famine 

Famine  —  Famine  —  Famine  —  is  the  chorus  in 
minor  strain,  from  ah  parts  of  China.  Will  not  all 
lovers  of  the  Word  in  America  respond  to  this  re¬ 
peated  appeal,  and  send  the  needed  relief  to  the 
perishing  multitudes?  “He  which  soweth  sparingly 
shall  reap  also  sparingly,  and  he  which  soweth 
bountifully  shall  reap  also  bountifully.  ” 

Mr.  Hooker  writes ; 

“The  reason  given  for  stopping  the  other  vessels 
was  the  fear  that  they  might  carry  northern  troops. 
Merchandise  which  naturally  ought  to  come  by 
steamer  is  being  sent  by  the  mails,  and  they  are  get¬ 
ting  clogged. 

“Our  crying  need  this  year  has  been,  and  still  is, 
for  books — hooks — books.  One  of  the  correspond¬ 
ents  writes:  ‘What  the  munitions  factory  is  to  the 
soldier  at  the  front,  so  are  the  Bible  and  tract  so¬ 
cieties  to  the  missionary  in  the  field.  ’  If  this  is  so, 
the  West  China  missionaries  may  be  compared  to 
the  Russian  troops,  defending  themselves  with  guns 
that  had  bayonets  only,  and  tearing  down  buildings 
to  use  the  bricks  for  ammunition. 

“When  the  Society  was  compelled  to  dismiss  the 
colporteurs  because  of  lack  of  funds,  we  decided  per¬ 
sonally  to  continue  the  support  of  some  of  them,  as  I 
reported  last  year.  We  had,  however,  to  lay  them 
off  when  books  gave  out,  and  the  scarcity  has  been  so 
great  that  they  average  the  work  of  less  than  three 
men  for  the  year.  We  are  thankful  for  one  extra, 
who  was  supported  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mis¬ 
sion  church  at  Leona,  Pa. 

Great  Eagerness  for  the  Story  of  Jesus 

“The  following  are  some  of  the  incidents  from  cor¬ 
respondents’  reports.  The  Rev.  G.  W.  Sparling,  of 
the  Canadian  Methodist  Mission,  writes: 

“  ‘One  of  tlie  encouraging  features  of  evangelistic 


CHINA 


145 


COLPORTEURS  AMONG  CHINESE  MOUNTAINEERS 


work  in  the  country  districts  is  the  readiness  with 
which  the  men  buy  the  Gospels.  In  nearly  all  my 
journeys  to  Lanchuan  I  have  been  sorry,  before  re¬ 
turning,  that  I  had  not  taken  more  books  with  me. 
Before  leaving  I  have  stocked  with  a  goodly  number 
and  as  many  as  I  hoped  to  sell,  but  almost  invariably 
there  has  been  such  a  ready  sale  that  I  have  found 
myself  short  of  books  before  I  was  ready  to  return 
home.  On  my  last  journey  I  sold  over  S, 000-cash 
worth . 


146 


CHINA 


Large  Sales  on  Market  Days 

“  ‘A  favorite  device  is  to  plan  my  journey  so  that 
I  will  pass  through  the  larger  towns  on  market  day. 
The  streets  are  thronged,  and  after  saying  a  few 
words  the  crowd  is  soon  gathered  and  they  are  told 
that  the  books  for  sale  contain  the  gospel,  which  we 
have  come  to  China  to  bring,  and  there  is  no  delay 
in  commencing  the  work  of  selling.  I  have  sold  as 
many  as  three  hundred  copies  of  the  Gospels  within  an 
hour.’ 

WEST  CHINA. — Western  Szechuan  Sub-Agency 

Sub-Agency  Secretary,  Rev.  Thomas  Torrance. 

Place  of  residence,  Chengtu. 

Table  of  Circulation 

Bibles  Test’s  Portions  Total 

Sales  at  depository .  618  1,479  31,752  33,849 

Sales  by  correspondents .  67,493  67,493 

Total  sales .  618  1,479  99,245  101,342 

Donations .  9  124  3  136 

Total  circulation .  627  1,603  99,248  101,478 

Mr.  Torrance  had  a  year  full  of  activity  and  en¬ 
couragement,  notwithstanding  the  decreased  staff. 
The  circulation  exceeded  the  100,000  mark,  as  the 
above  table  shows.  This  cheering  result  was  made 
possible  by  the  enthusiastic  efforts  of  “a  goodly 
number  of  unpaid  helpers”  who  gave  their  time  to 
the  sale  and  exposition  of  the  Scriptures,  and  also 
of  “three  privately-supported  evangelist-colporteurs.  ” 
Mr.  Torrance  himself,  in  company  with  his  and  other 
workers,  did  much  open-air  work  and  made  many 
towns,  during  which  excellent  “broadcast  work” 
was  done.  The  following  quotations  from  Mr.  Tor¬ 
rance’s  interesting  report  demonstrate  the  important 
and  far-reaching  work  which  he  is  carrying  on  so  ag¬ 
gressively.  He  writes : 

“As  opportunity  offered  we  have  conducted  meet- 


CHINA 


147 

ings  in  the  various  mission  churches,  street  chapels, 
Christian  guilds,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  halls,  and  the  Chengtu 
hospital;  given  lectures  to  students  in  government 
schools  and  preached  to  crowds  of  people  in  the  public 
temples.  My  purpose  has  been  never  to  refuse  an 
invitation  to  speak  or  lecture  if  I  were  free  to  do  so. 
In  this  way  I  have  responded  to  calls  from  five  dif¬ 
ferent  missions  working  in  Szechuan. 

Remarkable  Welcome  in  Heathen  Temples 

‘  ‘  From  time  to  time  the  evangelist-colporteurs  and 
I  have  gone  on  preaching  tours  in  the  country.  This 
kind  of  work  has  perhaps  been  the  most  cheering  of 
all.  For  here  we  were  launching  out  into  the  deep 
and  reaching  the  vast  multitudes  that  knew  nothing 
of  Christianity.  Space  fails  me  to  enumerate  the 
many  wonderful  meetings  we  have  had.  Invariably 
we  took  the  magic  lantern  with  us.  It  drew  the 
crowds  in  the  evening.  Night  by  night,  tightly- 
packed  gatherings  of  men  in  some  roomy  heathen 
temple  would  stand  and  see  and  hear  of  the  truth  con¬ 
tained  in  the  Gospel  they  bought  at  the  door.  Bud¬ 
dhist,  Taoist,  and  Confucian  temples  have  all  been 
opened  freely  to  us  at  one  time  or  another.  On  my 
last  itinerary  we  were  given  our  choice  in  a  certain 
city  of  using  the  Temple  of  Hell  or  the  public  theater — 
and  we  chose  the  latter.  As  usual,  no  charge  was  made ; 
the  citizens  fully  recognized  the  nature  of  our  work  and 
freely  gave  us  the  opportunity  of  reaching  the  people. 

Seed-bearing  Fruit  after  Many  Days 

“That  their  labors,  whether  in  co-operative  work 
like  this  or  in  individual  effort,  have  borne  fruit  I 
know  full  well.  The  results  may  not  be  seen  im¬ 
mediately,  but  sooner  or  later  they  must  appear. 
The  most  wonderful  case  of  this  seed-bearing  fruit 
after  many  days  is  that  of  Mr.  Pan,  whose  photo¬ 
graph  I  have  sent  to  you.  Forty  years  ago,  at  the 


CHINA 


148 

age  of  nineteen,  he  read  a  Gospel  lent  to  him  by  a 
friend,  and  recently  the  truth  so  long  dormant  in 
his  mind  sprang  into  fruition  by -the  chance  meeting 
of  a  Christian  who  explained  it  to  him.  To-day  he  is 
one  of  the  keenest,  brightest  church  members  in  the 
province.  Another  interesting  case,  but  the  reverse 
of  Mr.  Pan’s,  is  that  of  Mr.  Shong,  a  man  of  seventy- 
seven  years.  About  a  year  ago  a  colporteur  sold  him 
a  copy  of  Genesis.  The  story  of  Joseph  so  gripped 
his  heart  that  he  believed  at  once.  He  sent  his  sons 
to  buy  a  copy  of  every  book  the  colporteur  had.  So 
he  read  also  Exodus,  Proverbs,  Daniel,  Jonah,  the 
Gospels,  and  Acts.  He,  too,  is  now  baptized.  Hear¬ 
ing  last  October  that  I  was  near  by,  he  walked  six  or 
seven  miles  to  be  present  at  our  meeting.  The  sight 
of  his  earnest,  godly  face  made  me  thank  God  and 
take  courage. 

Splendid  Work  of  Bible  Societies 

“The  testimony  to  the  value  of  colportage-preaching 
work  is  the  same  everywhere.  All  unite  in  laying 
emphasis  on  the  need  of  increased  effort  on  the  part 
of  the  American  Bible  Society.  The  Rev.  George 
Hartwell,  who  came  to  China  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago,  writes:  ‘It  is  a  privilege  to  bear  witness  to  the 
splendid  work  of  the  Bible  Societies  in  West  China. 
The  American  Bible  Society  has  been  especially 
active.  In  addition  to  the  regular  colporteur  work, 
you  have  personally  conducted  tours  through  many 
of  the  prosperous  cities  and  towns  on  the  plains.’  ” 

What  a  wonderful  story  is  the  foregoing  of  the 
extensive,  aggressive  work  for  the  advancement  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  throughout  the  vast  reaches  of 
China!  May  this  brief  glimpse  of  the  Society’s 
activities  stimulate  many  to  the  giving  and  securing 
of  large  contributions  for  the  fundamental  and  in¬ 
dispensable  labor  of  the  American  Bible  Society  both 
at  home  and  abroad. 


JAPAN  149 

China’s  Urgent  Need 

We  quote  Dr.  Hykes’  earnest  words  at  the  elose 
of  his  report,  and  trust  they  will  strike  a  responsive 
chord  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  read,  and  pass  on  to 
others,  the  heartening  reports  from  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth: 

“We  close  our  year  with  profound  thankfulness  to 
God  that  he  has  blessed  his  own  work.  The  Scriptures 
are  still,  through  the  operation  of  the  Spirit,  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation. 

“The  close  of  the  war,  and  the  prospect  of  more 
normal  conditions,  together  with  an  increased  ap¬ 
propriation,  leads  us  to  look  forward  hopefully  to 
1919.  We  trust  it  may  be  laid  upon  the  hearts  of 
God’s  stewards  to  make  it  possible  for  the  Society  to 
meet  the  demand  for  the  Word  of  Life  which  comes 
from  the  millions  of  China. 

“In  her  efforts  to  emerge  from  her  deplorable  con¬ 
dition,  nothing  can  help  China  more  than  the  wide 
distributions  of  the  Scripture.” 

Japan 

Acting  Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  Karl  E.  Aurell 
Yokohama,  Japan 

Established  1876.  From  1890-1904,  Agency  jointly  maintained  by  the 
American  Bible  Society,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  and 
the  National  Bible  Society  of  Scotland.  In  1904,  work  was  divided, 
the  northern  part  of  Japan  being  assigned  to  the  Agency  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Bible  Society,  and  the  southern  portion  to  the  Agency  of  the 
British  Societies.  Circulation  in  1918,  92,535  volumes.  Aggregate 
circulation  through  American  Bible  Society  since  1876,  4,286,814 
volumes. 

In  this  field,  war  conditions  caused  “a  ceaseless 
advance  in  costs  of  production  as  well  as  of  circula¬ 
tion  of  Scriptures.”  The  inevitable  result  was  a 
decrease  in  the  output,  which  totaled  for  the  year 
5,053  Bibles,  40,494  Testaments,  and  46,988  portions 
— 92,535  volumes  in  all,  as  against  141,235  in  1917. 
The  number  of  workers  was  67,  which  was  29  less 
than  in  the  preceding  year. 


150  JAPAN 

Transfer  of  Headquarters 

Owing  to  greatly  increased  rents  it  was  considered 
best  to  move  from  the  building  -so  long  occupied  as 
the  Agency  Headquarters  in  Yokohama  to  a  smaller 
place.  Mr.  Aurell,  the  Acting  Agency  Secretary, 
hopes  this  change  will  be  only  temporary,  as  he 
considers  it  desirable  to  transfer  the  headquarters 
to  Tokyo. 

Excerpts  from  Mr.  Aurell’s  report  give  an  outline 
of  the  year’s  activities : 


The  Tokyo  Branch 

“Our  branch  depot  at  the  National  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
building  having  become  more  widely  known  through¬ 
out  the  city,  has  done  a  fine  work  during  the  year. 
Mr.  Otake,  who  is  in  charge,  has  been  kept  very 
busy  because  of  the  steady  increase  of  visitors  and 
customers.  The  demand  in  the  city  for  whole  Bibles, 
well  bound,  has  been  greater  than  we  could  supply, 
which  certainly  is  an  encouraging  evidence  of  the 
progressiveness  of  Christianity. 

Bible  Selling  in  Cherry-blossom  Season 

“As  in  many  years  past,  the  Society  supplied 
Testaments  for  selling  at  special  tent  services  held 
during  cherry-blossom  season  in  Tokyo.  This  is  a 
good  work,  because  large  numbers  of  people  who  have 
walked  themselves  tired  admiring  the  cherry  blos¬ 
soms,  are  glad  to  find  a  place  to  sit  down  in  and  rest. 
A  number  of  earnest  Christian  workers  in  attendance 
quite  easily  get  one  group  after  another,  many  times 
during  each  day,  into  the  tent.  Practically  every¬ 
body,  at  times  like  this,  carries  some  spending  money, 
and  so,  after  having  heard  an  earnest  gospel  message, 
many  of  them  are  quite  willing  to  buy  a  Testament. 
It  is  an  occasion  that  is  well  worth  while,  and  we  are 
glad  to  have  some  share  in  it. 


JAPAN  151 

A  Barber  Selling  Scriptures 

“The  oldest  son  of  one  of  our  colporteurs  runs  a 
barber  shop  in  the  city.  His  sincerity  as  a  Christian 
is  speedily  becoming  known.  Many  of  his  customers 
have  become  Christian  as  a  result  of  his  testimony. 
The  Bible  is  very  precious  to  him;  therefore  every 
month  he  buys  a  few  copies  to  have  on  hand  to  sell. 
He  keeps  them  in  a  little  case  in  the  window  so  that 
passers-by  on  the  street,  as  well  as  his  customers 
inside,  can  see  them.  He  never  neglects  to  exalt 
God’s  Book  and  consequently  sells  a  number  of 
copies  every  week.  He  observes  the  barbers’  holiday, 
the  17th  of  each  month,  by  taking  his  brother  and 
assistant  with  him  to  some  place  where  he  can  hold 
open-air  meetings,  at  which  time,  also.  Scriptures 
are  sold. 


Bible  Selling  in  the  Schools 

“Mr.  Maekawa  has  been  faithful  in  taking  the 
Scriptures  to  the  schools  in  the  city,  and  though  the 
high  cost  of  living  has  hit  the  student  body  hard, 
affecting  sales  somewhat,  it  has  been  a  real  joy  to 
hand  out  a  goodly  quantity  of  them.  There  are 
students  practically  in  all  schools  who  urge  fellow- 
students  to  buy,  and  the  realization  of  the  need  of 
the  moral  power  of  this  book  is  more  and  more  ac¬ 
knowledged. 

Portions  for  the  Japanese  Troops  in  Siberia 

“As  Y.  M.  C.  A.  workers  in  Japan  accompanied  the 
70,000  soldiers  Japan  sent  to  Siberia,  we  felt  that  we 
could  not  refuse  to  make  a  grant  of  10,000  portions 
for  distribution  among  them.  The  British  Society 
also  made  a  grant.  Besides  this  the  Christians  in 
Nagoya  City  bought  3,200  from  us  to  inclose  in 
comfort  bags,  which  they  also  sent  over  there  through 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.” 


152  JAPAN 

A  Notable  Conversion 

Mr.  Sato  relates  this  encouraging  fruit  of  his 
labors : 

“On  June  1st,  in  my  evening  open-air  work,  as  I 
was  relating  some  of  my  own  experiences,  a  life- 
insurance  agent  by  the  name  of  Ozawa  joined  the 
crowd  that  stood  around  me.  What  I  said  went 
right  to  his  heart.  He  asked  if  he  could  come  and 
see  me  at  my  house  on  the  morrow,  and  of  course  I 
cheerfully  consented.  Mr.  Ozawa  came,  and  in  con¬ 
versation  disclosed  to  me  much  of  his  past  wicked 
life.  His  wife  was  distracted  over  it  and  nearly  at 
the  point  of  losing  her  mind.  He  realized  he  was  a 
dreadful  sinner  and  begged  the  Lord  to  have  mercy 
on  him.  Before  returning  he  had  the  assurance 
of  salvation,  grounded  upon  the  promises  of  the  New 
Testament,  of  which,  in  the  meanwhile,  he  had  made 
himself  the  happy  possessor.  He  has  joined  a  church 
in  the  city  and  is  one  of  the  many  whom  I  frequently 
meet  and  rejoice  for.  Results  like  these  are  encourage¬ 
ments  the  Lord  gives  colporteurs  in  the  work  they 
are  privileged  to  do  for  him.  ” 

A  Poor  Little  Woman  like  Me 

The  faithful  Bible-woman  in  Tokyo,  Mrs.  Kamoda, 
gives  the  following  cheering  experience  in  her  work: 

“One  day  last  summer  I  came  to  a  military  of¬ 
ficer’s  home.  The  wife  said  they  were  Christians, 
but  that  their  two  servants  were  not.  I  went  around 
to  where  they  were  and  entered  into  a  talk  with 
them.  Having  told  them  of  the  God  who  loved  us 
so  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  I  concluded 
my  talk  by  reading  1.  Peter  2:18-20.  They  were  so 
thankful  for  what  I  had  said,  and  made  up  their 
minds  to  believe  in  Christ,  and  both  bought  Testa¬ 
ments.  Just  as  I  was  leaving  the  milkman  came  and 
I  talked  to  him  also  about  the  love  of  God,  and  he 
bought  a  Testament.  The  mistress  had  overheard 


JAPAN  153 

ail  that  I  said,  and  to  show  her  appreciation  came  out 
and  bought  a  copy.  Later  that  mistress  told  her 
pastor  of  my  visit  and  how  happy  she  was  that  I  had 
won  her  servants  for  Christ.  It  is  wonderful  that 
the  Lord  uses  even  a  poor  little  woman  like  me  in  a 
work  like  this,  and  I  do  praise  him  for  the  privilege 
of  serving  him  this  way.” 

Mr.  Kamiyama,  a  Miracle  of  Grace 

One  of  Mr.  Aurell’s  best  workers,  Mr.  Kamiyama, 
is  a  striking  example  of  the  gospel  which  is  “the 
power  {dunamis,  the  dynamite)  of  God  unto  salva¬ 
tion  to  everyone  that  believeth.”  When  a  young 
man  of  twenty,  in  a  fit  of  passion,  he  “grabbed 
an  old  Japanese  sword  and  unfortunately  killed  an 
old  man.”  For  this  he  was  sentenced  to  imprison¬ 
ment  with  hard  labor  for  an  indefinite  period.  He 
was  in  prison  about  nineteen  years.  He  “hated 
religion  like  snakes.”  A  fellow-prisoner  was  in¬ 
terested  in  the  Bible  and  read  it  constantly  when  at 
leisure.  This  only  irritated  Mr.  Kamiyama.  His 
statement  of  his  experiences,  as  related  by  Mr.  Aurell, 
is  in  part  as  follows: 

“Upon  entering  prison  life  I  became  most  unruly. 
There*  seemed  to  be  no  limit  to  my  wickedness. 
There  was  practically  no  disturbance  in  the  prison 
that  I  was  not  implicated  in.  The  result  was  that  I 
had  to  endure  all  sorts  of  punishment. 

“As  regards  religion,  I  had  no  use  for  either  Bud¬ 
dhism  or  Christianity.  Another  young  man,  who 
shared  my  cell,  always  improved  every  minute  he 
had  by  reading  a  Bible.  Sitting  on  the  floor  we  had 
to  sit  close  to  each  other,  and  occasionally  he  would 
urge  me  to  read  the  Bible.  It  made  me  furious 
to  have  him  ask  me  to  do  so.  I  always  sat  with  my 
back  turned  to  him,  because  I  could  not  stand  it  to 
see  his  face.  I  only  wished  he  would  fight,  and  I 
often  challenged  him  to  do  so. 


154  JAPAN 

“That  Bible  he  read  was  to  my  mind  an  awfully 
defiling  thing,  and  therefore  I  always  kept  my  things 
on  the  shelf  as  far  from  it  as  possible. 

The  “Still  Small  Voice” 

“About  ten  years  later  something  happened  to  me 
that  led  me  to  thinking  differently  from  what  I  had 
in  the  past.  One  day,  a  certain  fellow-prisoner  very 
hatefully  tried  to  get  me  into  great  embarrassment. 
I  was  terribly  upset,  and  thought  of  nothing  but  ven¬ 
geance.  I  spent  most  of  the  night  pondering  this 
thing.  About  midnight  this  thought  came  through 
my  mind:  ‘Human  beings  certainly  are  pitiable 
things.  If  there  is  a  God,  he  of  course  knows  whether 
it  is  I  that  is  bad  or  my  opponent.  If  so,  there  is 
no  use  in  getting  infuriated  over  this  matter.  Some 
day  it  will  become  clear.  ’  Waking  up  in  the  morn¬ 
ing  my  feelings  were  entirely  different  from  the  day 
before.  I  cannot  account  for  it,  but  it  was  a  fact. 
All  bitterness  and  bent  toward  having  it  out  with  the 
man  I  considered  had  wronged  me  had  vanished. 
That  very  day  I  asked  the  officer  for  a  Bible.  When 
he  brought  it  to  me  I  took  it  with  queer  feelings. 
Should  I  really  read  a  book  that  I  had  thought  con¬ 
taminated  everything  that  touched  it?  I  opened  it 
and  began  at  the  first  page  and  read  on  without 
stopping.  When  I  arrived  at  the  28th  verse  of  the 
11th  chapter  of  Matthew  I  was  overpowered,  and 
bending  over  on  the  floor,  lamenting  my  sinful  life, 
exclaimed:  ‘Oh,  this  is  what  my  heart  has  been  cry¬ 
ing  out  for  all  my  life  1  ’  My  desperate  need  was  met 
in  the  words  of  that  verse.  God  spoke  to  me.  This 
one  verse  from  the  New  Testament  was  imbued  with 
a  power  that  effected  an  instantaneous  and  complete 
change  in  me.  I  kept  on  reading,  and,  arriving  at 
Mark  2:17,  was  enabled  to  commit  soul  and  body 
to  Christ,  and  was  filled  with  an  inexpressible  hap¬ 
piness. 


KOREA 


155 


A  IVTodern  Joseph 

“The  Bible,  which  had  taken  possession  of  my 
heart,  became  the  sole  ruler  of  my  self.  A  remark¬ 
able  change  took  place  in  my  life  in  prison.  I  kept 
all  the  rules  and  worked  diligently.  In  a  brief  period 
I  gained  the  confidence  of  the  officers.  Finally  I  was 
honored  by  being  made  overseer  of  other  prisoners .  Ev¬ 
ery  day  I  bore  testimony  to  the  saving  grace  of  Christ 
to  all  about  me  and  urged  them  to  read  the  Bible. 

“On  the  27th  of  August,  three  years  ago,  the  com¬ 
mand  came  that  I  should  be  liberated  from  prison. 
When  this  joyful  information  came  to  my  ears  I  im¬ 
mediately  fell  on  my  knees  and  thanked  God,  and 
at  the  same  time  prayed  that  he  would  grant  me  the 
privilege  of  spreading  the  Glad  News  among  my 
countrymen  the  rest  of  my  days.  The  Lord  guided 
me  in  every  matter  and  my  request  was  granted; 
and  on  the  17th  of  July,  almost  two  years  ago,  the 
American  Bible  Society  gave  me  permission  to  begin 
selling  Scriptures.  It  is  an  unspeakable  joy  to  me 
day  by  day  to  have  the  privilege  of  spreading  the 
book  that  has  meant  so  much  to  me,  and  I  hope  to 
continue  in  this  work  until  the  Lord  calls  me  home.  “ 

Korea 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  S.  A.  Beck 
Seoul,  Korea 

Present  Agency  established  1908.  From  1882  the  Society  worked  in  Korea 
until  1904  through  its  Japan  Agency.  From  1904  until  December, 
1907,  it  worked  through  a  joint  Agency  with  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  and  the  National  Bible  Society  of  Scotland.  Circula¬ 
tion  in  1918,  213,739  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  in  the  ten 
years  since  1907,  2,379,743  volumes. 

Mr.  Beck’s  report  for  the  year  1918  records  both 
lights  and  shadows,  though  the  former  predominate. 
This  will  be  the  last  full  report  of  the  Korean  Agency, 
as  arrangements  have  been  entered  into  by  which 
the  Society  has  transferred  its  interests  in  Korea  to 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  exchange 
for  their  interests  in  the  Philippine  Islands. 


156  KOREA 

Discouragements  and  their  Effects 

Mr.  Beck  says  that  in  some  respects  the  year  1918 
“has  been  the  hardest  year  thus  far.experienced.  A 
further  unanticipated  necessary  reduction  in  the  ap¬ 
propriations  compelled  a  readjustment  of  the  work 
of  the  colporteurs,  and  the  release  in  some  sections  of 
men  who  had  been  with  us  for  years  and  were  among 
our  best  salesmen,  because  that  part  of  the  field  was 
less  needy  than  certain  other  parts,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  older  men  could  not  be  transferred  to  the 
newer  work;  so  there  was  consequent  hardship  both 
to  the  colporteurs  and  to  the  Society. 

“The  effects  of  the  world  war  came  closer  home 
to  Korea  this  year,  making  it  harder  for  the  people 
to  live  on  their  limited  incomes,  harder  for  the  col¬ 
porteurs  to  get  access  to  the  homes,  and  harder  to 
make  sales.  It  also  became  increasingly  difficult 
for  the  colporteurs  to  travel  about  the  country  with 
their  packs  of  books,  food  and  travel  expenses  in¬ 
creasing  to  more  than  double  the  previous  prices. 

“Police  and  gendarmes  have  also  in  many  places 
made  it  difficult  to  sell  books,  because  of  the  inquisi¬ 
torial  methods  not  only  with  the  colporteurs  them¬ 
selves  but  with  the  inhabitants  in  the  villages  where 
they  traveled  and  attempted  to  dispose  of  the  Scrip¬ 
tures.  ” 

The  Circulation 

Owing  to  the  war  and  other  conditions  noted  above, 
the  circulation  decreased  from  279,176  in  1917  to 
213,739  last  year — a  loss  of  65,437.  The  great  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  books  distributed  were  portions,  as  in 
the  other  Foreign  Agencies.  The  records  show  that 
390  Bibles,  6,838  Testaments,  and  206,511  portions 
were  put  into  circulation  by  134  people,  but  there  was 
an  average  of  only  57  colporteurs  and  11  Bible- 
women,  these  two  groups  of  workers  making  total 
sales  of  208,416  volumes,  while  our  entire  circulation 
was  213,739. 


KOREA 


157 

Correspondents  have  done  considerable  work  with¬ 
out  compensation,  while  several  Japanese  workers 
have  kept  stocks  of  Japanese  Scriptures  in  the  lead¬ 
ing  churches  and  received  a  commission  on  the  sales 
effected.  Our  Japanese  headquarters  has  been  main¬ 
tained  in  Seoul,  and  Mrs.  Soda  has  done  some  ex¬ 
cellent  work. 

Mr.  Beck’s  report  is  full  of  many  striking  illustra¬ 
tions  of  the  power  of  the  Word  of  God  in  turning 
men  away  from  sin,  and  in  influencing  them  to  burn 
or  discard  their  idols  and  follow  Christ. 

A  few  of  the  briefer  instances  are  thus  reported 
by  Mr.  Beck: 


Picture-covered  Gospels 

“Rebecca  Choi  called  at  the  home  of  a  woman  in 
Yangju  County  and  found  her  with  a  sorrowful 
heart,  holding  a  sick  boy  in  her  arms.  After  explain¬ 
ing  about  Jesus  she  asked  the  woman  to  purchase  Gos¬ 
pels,  but  was  refused.  As  the  Bible-woman  was 
rising  to  go  to  another  house  the  sick  boy  asked  his 
mother  to  buy  the  books  with  the  pretty  pictures; 
and  because  of  the  love  for  her  son  the  books  were 
purchased.  Then  he  asked  his  father  to  read  some 
from  the  books.  The  father  disliked  to  read  a 
Christian  book,  yet  to  please  the  sick  boy  he  did  read  a 
little  on  several  occasions.  Eventually  the  boy  en¬ 
tirely  recovered  and  could  play  as  before ;  and  one  day 
he  asked  his  father  to  teach  him  to  read;  but  the 
father  was  so  busy  farming  that  he  had  no  time  to 
teach  the  boy  how  to  read.  When  I  again  called  I 
gave  them  the  Eunmun  alphabet,  and  that  night  the 
tired  father  was  asked  to  teach  this  alphabet;  within 
three  months  he  was  able  to  read  and  understand. 
The  Gospels  were  the  easiest  to  read  and  he  enjoyed 
them  the  most.  While  the  boy  was  reading  the 
parents  frequently  heard  the  words  of  the  gospel,  and 
gradually  were  led  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ.  The 


158 


KOREA 


GROUP  OF  KOREAN  PATRIOTS  IN  PRISON 
»R.  SYNGMAN  RHEE  IN  CHAINS,  AT  THE  LEFT  (SEE  BIBLE  SOCIETY  RECORD,  SEPTEMBER,  1918) 


boy  is  only  seven,  but  he  can  read  all  the  Eunmun 
books;  and  now  there  are  seven  in  this  family  who 
are  believing  in  Christ. 

Weekly  Bible  Class  for  Korean  Scholars 

“  In  the  mountains  of  Kangwon  Province  Colporteur 
Yi  Byung  Wook  was  instrumental  in  gathering  to¬ 
gether  a  group  of  about  twenty-five  men  well  versed 
in  Chinese  and  Korean  literature,  to  whom  he  had 
taught  the  Scriptures.  These  men  were  meeting 
faithfully  week  by  week  for  the  study  of  the  Word  of 
God,  and  were  teaching  the  truths  to  their  families. 

Gospels  for  Prisoners 

“Yun  Yung  Pil,  before  starting  on  a  special  tour 
for  the  sale  of  Scriptures  at  Mokai,  in  the  Choongju 


KOREA 


159 

district,  called  on  the  chief  of  gendarmes  and  asked 
permission  to  preaeh  to  the  prisoners,  presenting  to 
the  chief  a  few  copies  of  Japanese  Gospels.  Permis¬ 
sion  was  readily  granted  and  the  prisoners  called  out. 
Tears  were  on  the  cheeks  of  several  as  they  listened 
to  the  message,  and  there  were  grateful  thanks  as 
they  received  copies  of  the  Word. 

The  Cat-and-Rat  Evil  Spirit 

“Kim  Yudai  relates:  ‘Near  my  village  lives  a 
widow  with  a  son  twenty-three  years  of  age,  who  was 
married  when  he  was  seventeen,  but  disliked  his  wife, 
so  that  they  had  frequent  quarrels  and  finally  lived 
apart.  The  widow  was  greatly  troubled  beeause  of 
the  acts  of  her  son  and  daughter-in-law,  and  finally 
decided  to  send  her  son  to  Seoul,  to  the  home  of  his 
uncle,  where  he  might  learn  to  be  a  merehant.  The 
boy  was  delighted  with  the  city  and  was  fascinated 
by  the  bright  lights  and  gay  life  about  him.  After 
three  years,  in  which  he  had  devoted  himself  more  to 
pleasure  than  to  business,  he  made  an  arrangement 
with  a  dancing  girl  whereby  she  was  to  quit  her  busi¬ 
ness  and  live  with  him  as  his  wife.  This  becoming 
known  to  the  uncle,  the  boy  was  sent  back  to  his 
mother  in  the  country  village.  A  few  days  after  his 
return  the  young  man  visited  a  sorceress  and  told 
her  of  his  unhappy  life;  that  he  did  not  wish  to  live 
with  his  wife,  and  that  he  did  want  to  return  to  the 
bright  life  in  the  eity;  so,  together  with  the  sorceress, 
he  planned  a  way  of  escape  from  his  miseries.  In  a 
few  days  he  feigned  sickness  and  asked  that  the  sor- 
ceres^  be  called.  The  sorceress  came,  practiced  her 
magic,  and  then  told  the  mother  that  her  daughter- 
in-law  was  possessed  with  an  evil  spirit  which  made 
the  son  siek.  According  to  Saju  (year,  month,  day 
and  hour  of  birth),  her  son  belonged  to  a  rat  and  his 
wife  to  a  cat,  so  they  could  not  agree  with  each  other, 
and  in  due  time  the  cat  would  destroy  the  rat.  The 


KOREA 


160 

widowed  mother  was  greatly  troubled,  and  finally  came 
to  me  and  said  that  she  remembered  a  rumor  that  a 
Christian  could  pray  and  drive  away  the  evil  spirits.  I 
told  her  I  had  no  such  power;  but  she  begged  me  to 
go  to  her  house,  and  I  went  and  explained  the  Gospels 
and  prayed.  An  earnest  invitation  was  given  to 
me  to  come  again.  I  left  several  of  the  Gospels, 
and  again  she  came  and  wanted  me  to  come  and  ex¬ 
plain  these  books,  and  pray  with  the  family.  For 
three  days  I  did  this,  and  on  the  fourth  day  the  son 
with  tears  told  of  the  wrong  things  he  had  done,  and 
decided  to  live  a  new  life  in  Jesus  Christ.  ’ 

Saved  from  the  Evil  Spirit 

“From  Haiju  one  of  our  colporteurs  writes  of  his 
stay  at  the  inn  in  a  country  village,  and  of  being  dis¬ 
turbed  by  the  shoutings  of  an  old  man  who  was  run¬ 
ning  about  the  street  with  a  long  knife.  Some  sup¬ 
posed  the  man  crazy,  but  it  was  explained  that  he 
was  not  crazy,  but  that  his  house  was  haunted  by 
an  evil  spirit,  and  he  was  searching  for  the  spirit  to 
kill  it,  so  his  house  might  have  peace.  The  col¬ 
porteur,  later,  accompanied  by  the  proprietor  of  the 
inn,  called  on  the  old  man,  told  him  about  Jesus, 
and  asked  him  to  believe.  He  said  that  if  Jesus 
could  drive  away  the  evil  spirit  he  would  believe  in 
Jesus.  The  colporteur  explained  that  if  he  faithfully 
believed  in  Jesus,  God  would  keep  the  evil  spirits 
away  from  him  and  his  family.  At  the  earnest  re¬ 
quest  of  the  family  the  colporteur  remained  at  the 
house  for  a  few  days ;  there  was  no  reappearance  of  the 
evil  spirit,  and  the  family  was  happy  in  the  conscious¬ 
ness  that  God’s  Word  and  God’s  spirit  could  not  only 
take  away  sin  but  also  all  fear  of  the  evil  spirit. 

Robbers  Won  for  Christ 

“One  of  our  colporteurs,  passing  over  a  high  and 
lonely  mountain  pass,  was  beset  by  robbers,  who  ex- 


PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 


161 

pected  to  find  something  valuable  in  his  pack  and 
traveling  bag.  His  few  possessions  were  ransacked 
and  the  books  thrown  oi;  the  ground;  but  he  took  the 
occasion  to  preach  Christ  to  the  two  men,  who  at  first 
would  not  listen.  Eventually,  however,  they  gave 
back  all  they  had  taken,  paid  for  two  of  the  Gospels, 
promised  to  abandon  their  calling,  and  went  to  the 
country  to  engage  in  farming  and  to  preach  Christ.” 

Great  is  the  encouragement  ,to  Christians  every¬ 
where  of  such  instances  as  the  above.  It  is  not  easy 
for  the  American  Bible  Society  and  Mr.  Beck  to 
withdraw  from  the  work  that  has  been  built  up  in 
Korea  and  is  of  such  promise;  but,  in  line  with  the 
spirit  of  union  and  co-operation  in  the  Christian 
church,  and  for  the  sake  of  economy,  the^Society 
gladly  passes  over  its  work  in  Korea  to  the  efficient 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  with  confidence 
that  it  will  be  well  cared  for.  And,  in  exchange,  it 
takes  over  all  the  work  of  the  British  Society  in  the 
Philippine  Islands. 


Philippines 

Agency  Secretary:  Rev.  J.  L.  McLaughlin 
Box  755,  Manila,  P.  I. 

Established  1899.  Field :  The  whole  archipelago  of  about  3,000  islands. 
Circulation  in  1918,  45,495  volumes.  Aggregate  circulation  since 
1899,  1,635,743  volumes. 

The  Society  was  fortunate  in  securing  the  services 
of  a  local  committee  of  missionaries  consisting  of  the 
Rev.  E.  S.  Lyons,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  the 
Rev.  W.  H.  Hanna,  from  the  Disciples,  and  the  Rev. 
J.  L.  Hooper,  from  the  Presbyterian  Missions,  re¬ 
spectively.  The  Rev.  W.  H.  Hanna  undertook  the 
correspondence  with  the  Home  Office. 

The  details  of  management  in  Manila  were  in  the 
hands  of  trusted  Filipinos.  Carlos  Panganiban  was 
made  depot  manager.  He  had  been  for  ten  years  in 

the  service  of  the  Agency,  and  of  his  honesty  and 

11 


162 


PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 


PHILIPPINE  PROBLEM  AND  PERIL:  THE  HALF-CASTES 

THE  CHRISTIAN  SOLUTION:  THE  PROTECTION  AND  PRIVILEGES  OP  A  HOME  AND  SCHOOL. 

MRS.  LUND  AND  HER  “FAMILY,”  ZAMBOANGO,  P.  I. 

integrity  there  could  be  no  question.  The  Rev. 
Candido  Magno  was  made  manager  of  field  work. 

He  had  been  an  active  pastor  and  was  generally  in 
the  favor  of  all  the  constituency.  Mr.  Hanna  was 
to  have  general  supervision. 

This  management  worked  well.  But,  as  might  be 
expected,  Mr.  Hanna  writes: 

“We  rejoice  that  the  work  of  circulating  the  Word 
that  makes  wise  unto  salvation  goes  on  apace  in  the 
Philippine  Islands.  Of  course,  without  the  active 
labors  and  ingenious  planning  of  Mr.  McLaughlin, 
the  figures  for  distribution  will  show  a  decrease.  For 
some  two  months  we  have  been  without  a  supply  of 
Bibles  in  the  Tagalog  language,  which  has  handi¬ 
capped  the  success  of  the  Bible  Revival  campaign.” 


EUROPE 


163 

A  new  arrangement  has  now  been  entered  into, 
which  is  a  part  of  the  report  for  1920,  but  which  should 
be  mentioned  here,  by  which  the  whole  care  of  the 
Philippines  has  been  entrusted  to  the  American  Bible 
Society.  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  re¬ 
tires,  in  an  exchange  by  which  the  American  Bible 
Society  withdraws  from  Korea,  turning  over  its  in¬ 
terests  there  to  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 
Mr.  McLaughlin  has  returned  to  the  field  and  next 
year  we  hope  to  present  a  more  complete  narrative  of 
Bible  work  in  this  vital  section  of  the  world  field. 

Beyond  the  Limits  of  the  Agencies 

EUROPE 

The  Society  has  no  established  agency  in  Europe, 
save  such  countries  as  are  included  in  the  Levant 
Agency.  It,  however,  has  correspondents  in  Norway, 
vSweden,  Denmark,  Finland,  Russia,  Belgium,  Ger¬ 
many,  Austria,  Switzerland,  France,  Italy,  and  Spain. 
Through  these  correspondents  it  is  able  to  assist  in 
the  supply  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  many  who  would 
not  receive  them  otherwise. 

Only  partial  and  imperfect  reports  of  the  work  in 
Europe  can  be  presented  again  this  year.  From 
most  of  the  correspondents  no  word  has  been  received. 
This  is  not  surprising,  considering  the  disturbed  con¬ 
ditions  of  the  present  and  the  obstacles  to  work  in 
the  past.  From  some  countries  and  correspondents, 
however,  belated  reports  of  work  in  earlier  years  of 
the  war  have  arrived.  These  we  present  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  statements  of  the  results  in  1918,  to  make 
the  record  as  complete  as  possible. 

War  Distribution  in  Europe 

The  foregoing  reports  show  not  only  that  no  dis¬ 
tinction  can  be  made  between  ordinary  distribution 
and  the  War  Distribution,  but  indicate  that  the 


EUROPE 


164 

circulation  recorded  should  be  practically  all  entered 
as  War  Distribution.  The  World’s  Sunday  School 
Association  money  provided  for  some  of  the  circula¬ 
tion  accomplished  during  earlier  years  of  the  war, 
and  here  recorded,  as  well  as  during  1918. 

From  the  reports  we  gather  the  following  facts  of 
War  Distribution: 

2,400  volumes  in  Russia,  all  from  American  Sunday-school  scholars. 

4,000  volumes  in  Germany  from  American  Sunday-school  scholars. 

4,518  volumes  in  Switzerland. 

134,371  volumes  in  France,  of  which  125,891  were  gifts  of  American 

Sunday-school  scholars. 

19,332  volumes  in  Italy,  through  the  Waldensian  Aid  Society. 

7,000  volumes  in  Italy,  through  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Socie¬ 
ty,  the  gifts  of  American  Sunday-school  scholars. 

171,621  volumes — total  issue  in  Europe,  now  reported  for  the  first  time. 

The  total  hitherto  reported  as  War  Distribution  in 
Europe  from  August,  1914,  to  December  31,  1917, 
was  1,674,867;  and  this  total,  so  far  as  records  now 
obtainable  show,  amounted  on  December  31,  1918, 
to  1,846,488  volumes. 

Russia 

Through  the  Rev.  Arthur  Taylor,  M.A.,  then  see- 
retary  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  in  a 
letter  reeeived  too  late  for  record  in  the  1917  report, 
eomes  the  following  statement  of  work  accomplished 
that  year  through  money  sent  on  behalf  of  the  World’s 
Sunday  School  Association.  He  tells  us: 

“The  $200  were  devoted  to  distribution  in  Russia, 
and  we  estimate  from  a  letter  reeeived  from  Dr.  Kean 
that  the  total  number  of  eopies  given  away  was  2,400 
volumes.  Dr.  Kean  writes  that  one-half  of  the  sum 
was  expended  through  the  Rev.  Dr.  Simons,  of  the 
American  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  other 
half  through  the  Ameriean  Red  Cross.” 

No  word  has  been  reeeived  from  other  correspond¬ 
ents  in  Russia  eoncerning  the  work  in  1918. 

Germany 

The  Rev.  Arthur  Taylor,  M.A.,  on  behalf  of  the 


EUROPE 


165 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  sends  information 
concerning  the  use  of  $500  sent  through  that  Society 
for  use  in  Germany  in  1917.  This  money  was  also  the 
gift  of  American  Sunday-school  scholars.  He  writes: 

“The  sum  of  $500  was  devoted  to  the  supply  of 
Testaments  to  prisoners  of  war  in  Germany.  We 
estimate  that  it  provided  4,000  Testaments,  and  if 
you  will  kindly  accept  that  figure  we  will  enter  it  at 
this  end  as  the  number  supplied  to  your  order.” 

Switzerland 

The  Rev.  Dr.  R.  Ernest  Grob,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Conference  in  Switzerland,  sends  the  fol¬ 
lowing  : 

“During  the  last  year  the  work  continued  in  an 
encouraging  way,  though  it  was  much  hampered  by 
the  war.  There  was  everywhere  strong  inquiry  for 
the  Holy  Book,  and  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I 
had  to  refuse  the  orders  that  came  in,  because  it 
was  utterly  impossible  to  get  the  Bibles.  Now  things 
are  turning  to  the  better,  and  I  do  hope  that  this 
experience  leads  our  people  to  a  higher  estimation  of 
the  Word  of  God.” 

The  issues  reported  by  Dr.  Grob  consisted  of  1,148 
Bibles,  1,620  Testaments,  and  1,750  portions;  or  a 
total  of  4,518  volumes. 

No  report  has  been  received  from  the  Evangelical 
Society  of  Geneva. 

France 

The  secretary  of  the  Bible  Society  of  France, 
Dr.  Ernest  Bertrand,  includes  in  his  report  informa¬ 
tion  about  the  circulation  during  1916  and  1917,  as 
well  as  1918,  and  brings  our  records  more  completely 
up  to  date,  especially  in  connection  with  the  Million 
Nickel  Fund  of  the  World’s  Sunday  School  Associa¬ 
tion. 

1916-1917 

A  distribution  is  recorded  of  10,086  copies  during 


EUROPE 


166 

1916,  and  of  25,627  copies  during  1917,  of  the  Evangile 
du  Soldat  Frangais.  The  Bible  Society  Record  during 
the  past  two  years,  and  the  fuller  Annual  Report  for 
1918,  present  interesting  details  of  this  distribution 
and  the  appreciation  expressed  by  men  of  various 
ranks  and  of  various  countries. 

1918 

In  1918,  8,480  of  the  10,000  copies  printed  at 
the  expense  of  the  American  Bible  Society  were 
distributed. 

Accompanying  the  letter  of  thanks  from  Dr.  Ber¬ 
trand  were  letters  in  appreciation  of  the  French  Testa¬ 
ments  eirculated  by  the  aid  of  the  American  Bible 
Society,  not  only  from  French,  Belgian,  Russian,  and 
American  soldiers,  but  also  from  such  unexpected 
sources  as  the  French  colonial  soldiers — Malagasies 
from  Madagascar,  Senegalese  from  Africa,  Annamites 
from  Asia,  and  islanders  from  Tahiti  and  New  Cale¬ 
donia.  A  training  eamp  for  these  colonial  troops 
was  maintained  by  the  French  at  St.  Raphael  on  the 
Riviera. 

Naturally,  it  would  be  thought,  these  troops  would 
like  Seriptures  in  their  own  tongues ;  but — ‘  ‘  It  is  not 
thus!  They  .prefer  to  read  the  Gospel  in  French R 
A  letter  from  the  Salvation  Army  in  France  acknowl¬ 
edges  with  deep  thanks  1,400  copies  of  the  Gospels. 
A  Belgian  chaplain  asks  for  “many  copies.” 

Another  letter  from  Dr.  Bertrand  tells  of  the  au¬ 
dience  obtained  with  President  Wilson  for  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  Bible  Society  of  France,  who  pre¬ 
sented  Mr.  Wilson  with  “a  very  pretty  little  Bible, 
bound  in  parchment  and  illuminated,  that  was  a  veri¬ 
table  work  of  art.”  The  paper  Le  Christianisme  au 
XXe  SieclCy  giving  an  account  of  this  incident,  states: 

“Mr.  Wilson  in  a  few  well-ehosen  words  responded 
that  he  was  alive  to  the  grave  responsibility  that 
rested  upon  him,  in  that  the  world  was  looking  to 


EUROPE 


167 

him  and  waiting  for  him  to  do  that  which  could 
come  only  from  God.  Then,  taking  in  his  hands  the 
Bible  which  had  been  presented  to  him,  he  said  that 
if  he  was  in  any  small  measure  worthy  of  such  con¬ 
sideration  in  the  eyes  of  the  Christians  who  were 
before  him,  it  was  due  to  the  religious  principles  that 
had  been  instilled  in  him  by  the  Book  of  books,  to 
which  he  had  always  looked  for  inspiration. 

“As  to  the  rest,  he  added,  the  work  of  justice  that 
the  Peace  Conference  was  endeavoring  to  accomplish, 
ought  to  be  such  that  the  governments  of  the  people 
would  hereafter  be  inspired  in  their  actions  by  Chris¬ 
tian  principles;  that  is  to  say,  the  principles  of  true 
justice,  since  at  the  foundation  ‘Justice  is  religion’ — 
in  the  sense  that  justice  constitutes  the  essential  part 
of  religion  itself.’’ 

On  this  occasion  the  president  of  the  Bible  Society 
of  France,  Dr.  de  Visme,  gave  a  brief  and  interesting 
explanation  of  what  was  meant  by  the  Synod’s  Ver¬ 
sion,  as  follows: 

“Synodal,  it  is  called,  because  made  by  command 
of  the  Synod  of  our  Presbyterian  churches.  We  have 
never  had  in  France  any  authorized  version,  of  the 
Bible  such  as  that  which  exists  in  England.  But 
from  the  early  days  of  the  Reformation,  there  ap¬ 
peared  one  that  was  generally  accepted  by  the  people 
of  our  communities.  It  is  that  one  that,  after  having 
undergone  several  successive  revisions  in  the  course 
of  the  last  two  centuries,  was  once  more  revised  of 
late  by  some  of  our  most  distinguished  linguists  and 
theologians,  a  work  of  more  than  ten  years’  labor 
that  had  just  been  completed  when  the  war  broke 
out.” 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Ritson,  of  the  British  and  ForMgn 
Bible  Society,  has  sent  a  report  of  the  work  in  1916, 
which  has  not  appeared  in  our  records  and  is  there¬ 
fore  presented  herewith,  as  an  additional  service  ren- 


EUROPE 


168 

dered  by  American  Sunday-school  scholars,  through 
the  World’s  Sunday  School  Association. 

“On  December  6,  1916,  1  wrote  to  Mr.  Vasseur,  of 
Paris,  authorizing  him  to  spend  the  £50.10.5  which 
you  remitted  to  us.  I  have  received  a  report,  now, 
stating  that  Mr.  Vasseur  has  distributed  1,746  Testa¬ 
ments  and  19,017  portions,  making  a  total  of  20,763. 
These  books  have  been  distributed  among  soldiers 
in  all  parts  of  France — chiefly  by  our  own  colporteurs, 
but  also  by  the  help  of  pastors  and  evangelists. 
Some  of  the  books  were  distributed  in  Paris,  at  the 
stations,  particularly  at  the  railway  stations  du  Nord 
and  de  I’Est.  On  the  whole  the  volumes  have  been 
very  well  received.  It  has  been  quite  exceptional  for 
soldiers  to  reject  them.” 

Dr.  Ritson  further  reports  that  £24,  sent  in  1918 
from  the  World’s  Sunday  School  Association,  resulted 
in  the  circiilation  of  781  Testaments  and  8,634  por¬ 
tions — “given  by  colporteurs  to  soldiers  at  railway 
stations,  and  in  towns  and  villages,  and  by  chaplains 
to  men  at  the  front.” 

From  the  Rev.  R.  H.  Falconer,  secretary  of  the 
National  Bible  Society  of  Scotland,  comes  report 
of  what  was  accomplished  during  1917  with  money 
sent  on  behalf  of  the  World’s  Sunday  School  Associa¬ 
tion  for  service  in  France  through  this  Society.  He 
wrote : 

“  I  fear  I  di^  not  attend  to  your  request  for  a  state¬ 
ment  as  to  what  we  had  done  with  the  $500  which 
you  sent  us  for  French  Army  work  out  of  the  Sunday- 
school  offerings,  and  for  this  omission  I  crave  pardon. 
We  were  able  to  circulate  with  this  money  60,000 
French  Gospels.” 

Italy 

The  Waldensian  Aid  Society  reports  a  circulation 
in  1918  of  29  Bibles,  11,740  Testaments,  and  7,563 
portions;  or  a  total  of  19,332  volumes,  all  in  the 


ASIA  169 

Italian  language.  The  Rev.  G.  J.  D’Anehise,  one  of 
the  directors,  writes: 

“Soldiers  in  Naples  have  accepted  the  gift  of  the 
Scriptures,  taking  their  caps  off  and  kissing  the  pre¬ 
cious  little  book  containing  the  life  and  the  words  of  the 
Saviour.  Surely  the  little  book  has  brought  to  them 
a  keener  feeling  of  the  presence  of  the  Master,  -in 
those  gruesome  hours  of  life  in  the  trenches!” 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Ritson,  on  behalf  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  reports  that  in  1917  and  1918 
£50  supplied  by  the  World’s  Sunday  School  Associa¬ 
tion  resulted  in  the  circulation  of  2,000  Testaments 
and  5,000  portions  in  Italy. 

Other  European  Countries 

No  report  has  been  received  from  Norway,  Den¬ 
mark,  Finland,  Belgium,  Austria,  or  Spain. 

ASIA 

The  Society  had  three  Agencies  on  the  continent  of 
Asia — those  in  China,  Korea,  and  Siam — and  Agencies 
on  the  islands  of  Japan  and  the  Philippines.  It  also 
had  correspondents  in  Arabia  and  India. 

India 

No  report  was  received  from  the  Arcot  Mission  of 
the  Reformed  Church  in  America. 

From  the  report  of  the  Madura  Mission  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Mis¬ 
sions,  we  find  a  circulation  of  78  Bibles,  52  Testa¬ 
ments,  and  14,074  portions;  or  a  total  of  14,204,  as 
accomplished  through  the  funds  put  at  their  dis¬ 
posal  by  this  Society. 

Arabia 

The  Arabian  Mission  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
America  reports  a  circulation  of  400  Bibles,  148  Testa¬ 
ments,  and  5,000  portions ;  or  a  total  of  5,548  volumes. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  James  Cantine,  their  senior  missionary, 
states : 


ASIA 


170 

“Our  Scripture  sales  for  Kuweit,  Busrah,  and 
Amara,  which  have  been  under  my  personal  observa¬ 
tion,  have  totaled  5,548  copies.  Communications  in 
Mesopotamia  are  still  under  military  direction,  and 
our  colportage  has  been  restricted  to  the  places  in 
which  we  live.  Here  at  Busrah  the  sales  have  been 
increased  by  many  copies  to  Indians  in  many  of  the 
Indian  languages  and  by  many  scores  of  Bibles  sent 
by  the  soldiers  to  their  families  in  England.” 

Ceylon 

From  the  American  Ceylon  Mission  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions 
has  come  the  following  statement  through  its  secre¬ 
tary,  the  Rev.  W.  E.  Hitchcock,  concerning  all  grants 
made  in  1917  and  not  hitherto  reported: 

“The  money  was  used  for  the  purchase  of  200 
copies  of  the  Tamil  Bible,  to  be  presented  to  pupils 
in  our  boarding  schools.  Many  of  the  pupils  come 
from  Hindu  homes  and  have  never  had  a  Bible  before. 

“Now  the  Mission  desires  me  to  ask  you  if  your 
Society  will  kindly  give  us  a  grant  of  100  English 
Bibles  for  students  in  Jaffna  College  and  our  Uduvil 
Girls’  English  School.” 

The  100  Bibles  asked  for  were  donated  by  the 
American  Bible  Society  during  1918. 

MICRONESIA 

As  in  the  past,  our  chief  work  in  Micronesia  is 
through  shipments  of  Scriptures  to  missions  on  the 
islands.  The  largest  shipments  during  1918  were 
501  volumes  to  Gilbert  Islands  and  200  volumes  in  the 
Hawaiian  language. 

AFRICA 

Under  the  report  of  the  Levant  Ageney  the  work 
of  the  Society  in  Egypt  and  the  Soudan  is  reported. 
During  1918,  37,128  volumes  were  sent  to  Africa  out- 


AFRICA  171 

side  of  the  Levant  Agency  area — 26,642  being  in  the 
Zulu  language. 

From  the  Rev.  William  C.  Terril,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  Mission  at  Inhambane,  have  come 
reports  of  several  interesting  incidents  which  occurred 
as  a  result  of  the  Scriptures  supplied  to  him  in  1917 
and  1918;  these  we  present  herewith. 

Under  date  of  May  6,  1918,  he  writes: 

“I  have  already  written  to  you  regarding  the  safe 
arrival  of  the  400  New  Testaments  in  Sheetswa  that 
you  sent  to  this  Mission  last  year.  They  are  already 
in  circulation,  some  of  them  going  to  Johannesburg 
and  other  parts  of  the  Transvaal  and  not  a  few  to 
Nyassaland,  our  great  battle  front  on  this  coast. 
Many  of  our  native  Christians  have  been  called  and 
are  still  being  called  to  the  colors,  and  whenever  pos¬ 
sible  we  supply  them  with  a  copy  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  and  a  hymn  book  in  their  own  language. 

“A  few  months  ago  I  wrote  to  you  about  the  Gi- 
tonga  Scriptures  being  used  up  entirely.  I  did  not 
report  why  there  was  a  sudden  run  on  them.  The 
Church  of  England  Mission  of  this  district  has  work 
principally  among  the  Batonga  tribe,  and  there  were 
several  young  men  from  that  tribe,  also,  drafted  for 
the  front.  This  Mission  referred  to  wished  to  supply 
their  natives  with  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  in 
Gitonga,  and  their  stock  being  exhausted  I  gave  to 
them  100  copies,  which  used  all  that  I  had  with  the 
exception  of  ten.” 

A  Heathen  Converted  in  Portuguese  Nyassaland 
through  a  Sheetswa  Bible  from  New  York 

Under  date  of  August  9,  1918,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Terril 
writes  again : 

“Permit  me  to  say  that  I  am  pleased  that  you  ap¬ 
prove  of  the  use  of  the  copies  of  the  Sheetswa  Scrip¬ 
tures  that  you  sent  us  for  army  purposes.  Another 
incident  came  under  my  personal  notice,  which  I  feel 
is  worth  reporting.  It  shows  that  the  Sheetswa 


AFRICA 


172 

Scriptures  that  were  thus  distributed  were  not  only 
used  for  the  strengthening  of  the  native  Christians 
in  the  faith,  but  were  also  used  in  winning  the  heathen 
for  Christ.  I  have  just  been  making  a  tour  of  my 
district  (requiring  six  weeks  for  the  trip),  holding 
quarterly  eonferences,  examinations,  meetings,  etc. 
At  one  of  the  conferences  held,  among  the  many  candi¬ 
dates  for  baptism  was  a  very  bright,  intelligent,  and 
capable  young  native  man.  When  the  questions 
were  being  asked  him  as  to  when,  how,  and  where  he 
was  converted,  I  was  greatly  surprised  and  rejoiced 
to  have  him  reply  that  he  was  converted  in  the  army 
in  Portuguese  Nyassaland,  in  this  province.  How  did 
it  come  about,  I  asked  him.  He  told  me  that  when 
he  went  there  he  was  a  heathen,  and  guilty  of  all  that 
a  heathen  African  can  be  guilty  of,  but  that  some  of 
the  Inhambane  Christians  held  daily  meetings  in  the 
Sheetswa  language.  One  of  their  number  was  ap¬ 
pointed  the  preacher,  and  they  would  sing  the  Sheet¬ 
swa  hymns  from  our  hymnal  and  then  a  chapter  from 
the  Sheetswa  Scriptures  would  be  read  and  an  ex¬ 
position  given.  At  first  this  young  man  scoffed  at  it 
all,  but  he  was  taken  sick,  which  was  thought  to  be 
unto  death,  and  those  who  cared  for  him  the  best 
were  the  Inhambane  Christians,  and  they  nursed  him 
baek  to  life.  This  made  him  more  susceptible  to  the 
gospel  message  that  the  native,  self-appointed  preach¬ 
er  gave  each  day,  and  the  young  seoffing  heathen  be- 
eame  a  penitent  and  sought  forgiveness,  and  gave  his 
heart  to  God  and  was  thoroughly  converted.  He 
remained  a  few  months  longer  in  the  army,  and  was 
again  taken  seriously  ill;  this  time  he  was  granted 
permission  to  return  to  his  home.  I  had  the  honor 
of  baptizing  this  young  man  and  admitting  him  into 
the  communion  of  our  church;  also  of  administering 
to  him  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord’s  Supper  for  the 
first  time. 

Had  the  American  Bible  Society  not  made  pos- 


INCOME  AND  EXPENDITURE  173 

sible  for  us  these  copies  of  the  Sheetswa  New 
Testament,  there  would  have  been  no  services 
held,  no  Word  of  God  read  at  the  Nyassa  front,  and 
this  young  man  would  not  have  become  a  servant  of 
the  King.  Doubtless  he  is  just  one  example  of  many 
others  that  we  shall  meet  when  the  native  boys  return 
from  the  front.” 

THE  AUXILIARY  BIBLE  SOCIETIES 

Material  aid  was  given  by  many  auxiliary  societies 
in  the  special  work  of  1918 — that  of  supplying  Scrip¬ 
tures  for  the  Army  and  Navy.  The  absorption  of 
the  country  in  supporting  the  Army  and  Navy,  and 
the  many  useful  lines  of  service  open  to  civilians  at 
home,  are  doubtless  responsible,  on  the  other  hand, 
for  the  absence  of  reports  from  a  large  number  of 
auxiliaries.  It  is  noteworthy  and  cheering  to  find  the 
oldest  auxiliaries  usually  among  the  most  active. 
Several  are  over  a  century  old,  while  three  celebrated 
their  Centennial  during  1918.  The  Maryland  Bible 
Society  made  a  further  payment  of  $5,000  on  the  Bible 
House  at  Cristobal,  Canal  Zone,  which  it  is  presenting 
to  the  American  Bible  Society.  Almost  $2,000  came 
through  the  New  Hampshire  Bible  Society,  and 
$1,000  from  the  Massachusetts  Bible  Society. 

The  largest  gift  from  individual  auxiliaries  received 
in  many  years  came  during  this  crucial  year  of  war 
expense  and  war  calls,  the  Essex  County  Bible 
Society  of  New  Jersey  sending  $3,000,  and  the  Sussex 
County  Bible  Society  of  New  Jersey,  $1,500.  Details 
of  the  activities  of  the  auxiliary  societies  will  be 
found  in  the  full  Annual  Report. 

INCOME  AND  EXPENDITURE 

Details  of  the  income  and  expenditures  of  the 
Society  are  supplied  in  the  reports  of  the  Executive 
Officers  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1919.  The  total  in¬ 
come  for  the  year  was  $912,846.40,  while  the  total 


174  INCOME  AND  EXPENDITURE 

charges  for  the  period  ending  December  31,  1918, 
were  $889,092.86,  leaving  an  excess  of  income  over 
expenses  and  charges  of  $23,753.54.- 

Trust  Funds 

The  permanent  trusts,  including  the  Endowment, 
amounted  to  $1,951,917.63,  of  which  $21,878.95  was 
received  during  the  year;  Special  Trusts  created  by 
the  Board  amounted  to  $125,250;  and  Permanent 
Trusts,  created  for  specific  purposes,  amounted  to 
$63,396.14.  Thus  the  total  of  trust  funds  on  Decem¬ 
ber  31,  1918,  is  $2,140,563.77.  The  net  income  from 
these  trust  funds  amounted  to  $99,265.43. 

Other  sources  of  income  are  legaeies,  and  net 
income  from  the  Bible  House,  and  from  sales.  But 
the  total  from  all  these  sources  is  not  half  the  amount 
required  for  the  Society’s  world- wide  work.  It  is 
dependent  on  the  gifts  of  the  living  for  ability  to 
meet  the  needs  and  calls  of  the  hour. 

ESTIMATES  AND  APPROPRIATIONS 

The  appropriations  for  the  year  1919,  authorized 
by  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Society,  are  as 
follows : 

For  the  Home  Agencies,  $105,300.  This  does  not 
include  the  cost  of  the  Scriptures  placed  at  the  dis¬ 
posal  of  the  Home  Agencies.  For  the  miscellaneous 
grants  of  Scriptures  and  emergency  items  in  the 
home  field,  $10,000. 

For  the  Foreign  Agencies,  $322,850;  $229,150  is 
the  appropriation  from  America  in  cash  and  books, 
and  $93,700  the  estimated  receipts  from  sales  of 
Scriptures,  church  collections,  and  individual  gifts 
in  the  foreign  fields,  which  are  not  forwarded  to  the 
Bible  House  in  New  York  as  they  are  in  the  case  of 
the  Home  Agencies,  but  are  retained  on  the  field  as 
an  addition  to  the  appropriations.  To  meet  emer¬ 
gencies  connected  with  Foreign  Agencies  and  the  mis- 


CONCLUSION 


175 

cellaneous  grants  in  funds  and  books  to  fields  in 
Europe,  Africa,  and  Asia,  where  the  Society  has  no 
regular  Agencies,  $10,000.  For  the  translation  and 
revision  of  the  Scriptures,  largely  for  foreign  lands, 
$5,000. 

For  the  manufacture  of  Scriptures  at  the  Bible 
House  in  New  York,  $225,000.  These  books  are 
used  chiefly  in  the  Home  Agencies  of  the  Society 
and  really  are  a  supplement  to  their  appropriation. 
Books  are  also  sent  from  the  Bible  House  to  Lat in- 
American  countries,  where  they  are  included  in  the 
appropriations  to  the  Agencies. 

For  the  administrative  and  office  expenses,  which 
include  the  salaries  of  the  officers,  the  clerical  force 
at  the  Bible  House,  and  all  the  cost  of  leaflets,  the 
Bible  Society  Record,  postage,  traveling  expenses, 
etc.,  $50,000.  For  the  expenses  connected  with  the 
real  estate  of  the  Society  and  other  capital  charges, 
$15,000. 

These  Appropriations  and  Estimates  total  $743,150. 
A  number  of  items  impossible  to  estimate,  and  the 
increased  cost  of  production  and  distribution  in  this 
country  and  abroad,  owing  to  the  constant  rise  in 
prices,  will  undoubtedly  bring  this  figure  up  to  a 
total  of  $775,000  before  the  year  is  closed.  For  war 
emergencies  $150,000  will  be  needed,  this  making  the 
total  $925,000. 

Conclusion 

The  disturbing  and  dangerous  disorders  through¬ 
out  the  world;  the  restlessness,  aspiration,  and  dis¬ 
tress  among  the  peoples  of  all  continents,  create  and 
present  a  call  and  need  for  the  steadying,  enlighten¬ 
ing,  and  beneficent  influence’of  the  Scriptures,  which 
has  never  been  more  urgent.  The  Foreign  Agencies 
of  the  Society  are  fields  ripe  for  harvest  beyond 
description.  Stocks  of  Scriptures  unreplenished  dur¬ 
ing  the  war  have  been  exhausted.  All  over  the  world 


CONCLUSION 


176 

costs  of  colportage  and  other  services  have  increased 
as  in  the  United  States.  A  new  and  unprecedented 
demand  for  the  Scriptures  has  opened  in  the  war-torn 
regions  of  Europe.  Trusting  in  the  good  will  of  those 
who  are  lovers  of  the  Bible  in  America  and  wherever 
the  Society  goes,  the  Board  of  Managers  has  made 
the  appropriations  for  1919  as  recorded  above,  which, 
including  the  war  emergencies,  amount  to  $925,000. 
Shall  its  faith  be  rewarded,  its  service  to  our  country 
and  to  the  world  be  facilitated? 

Over  and  above  all — as  in  the  past,  so  in  these 
crucial  days — the  earnest  prayers,  unfailing  sympathy, 
and  moral  support  of  the  friends  of  the  Bible  are 
earnestly  desired  by,  and  on  behalf  of,  the  American 
Bible  Society  and  all  its  workers,  that  they  may  be 
faithful,  tactful,  unflinching  and  successful  in  the 
production  and  distribution  of  the  Word  to  those  in 
need  throughout  the  world. 


\ 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 

Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  New  York 


Home  Atfencies 

Colored  People  of  the  South,  Rev.  J.  P.  Wragg,  D.D. 

35  Gammon  Avenue,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

Northwestern  Ageticy,  Rev.  S.  H.  Kirkbride,  D.D. 

332  South  Michigran  Ave.,  Chlcagfo,  Ill. 

South  Atlantic  Agency.  Rev.  M.  B.  Porter, 

313  A  East  Grace  Street,  Richmond,  Va. 

Western  Agency,  Rev.  Arthur  F.  Ragatz,  D.D. 

Lincoln  St.  and  16th  Ave., Denver, Colo. 

Pacific  Agency,  Rev.  A.  Wesley  Mell 

122  McAllister  Street,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Southwestern  Agency,  Rev.  J.  J.  Morgan 

1304  Commerce  Street.  Dallas,  Texas. 

Eastern  Agency,  Rev.  Henry  J.  Scudder,  B.D. 

137  Montagfue  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Central  Agency,  Rev.  Frank  Marston,  D.D., 

424  Elm  Street,  Cincinnati,  O. 

Atlantic  Agency,  Rev.  Frank  P.  Parkin,  D.D., 

701  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


Foreign  Agencies 


Levant  Agency, 


*  W.  W.  Peet, 

Bible  House,  Constantinople,  Turkey 
+  Rev.  Franklin  E.  Hoskins,  D.D., 

Beirut,  Syria 


La  Plata  Agency,  Rev.  Francis  G.  Penzotti 

Casllla  de  Correo,  304,  Calle  Parana, 481,  Buenos  Ayres,  Ar- 
srentlna 


Japan  Agency,  t  Rev.  Karl  E.  Aurell 

Bible  House,  Yokohama,  Japan 


China  Agency,  Rev.  John  R.  Hykes,  D.D. 

73  Szechuen  Road,  Shansfhal.  China 
Brazil  Agency,  Rev.  H.  C.  Tucker,  D.D, 

Caixa  do  Correio,454,  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Brazil 


Mexico  Agency,  Rev.  A.  H.  Mellen 

Apartado  1373,  Mexico  City,  Mexico 


West  Indies  Agency ,  Marcial-Dorado,  Ph.D. 

San  Juan,  Porto  Rico 

Siam  Agency,  Rev.  Robert  Irwin 

426  Pramuen  Road,  Bangfkok,  Siam 

Panama  Canaland  Cen-  \  Rev.  W.  F.  Jordan 

tral  America  Agency  J  Bible  House.Crlstobal.Canal  Zone 


Philippines  Agency,  Rev.  J.  L.  McLaughlin 
_  Box  755,  Manila,  P.  I. 

•  Appointed  Acting  Secretary  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Bowen. 

+  In  charge  of  the  Arabic-speaking  portion  of  the  field, 
t  Acting  Agency  Secretary. 


